(1) Where for any reason the whole or any part of the turnover of business of a dealer has escaped assessment to tax in any year or return period or has been under assessed or has been assessed at a rate lower than the rate at which it is assessable or any deduction has been wrongly made therefrom, or where any Input Tax or special rebate credit has been wrongly availed of, the assessing authority may, at any time within six years from the last date of the year to which the return relates, proceed to determine, to the best of its judgment, the turnover which has escaped assessment to tax or has been under assessed or has been assessed at a rate lower than the rate at which it is assessable or the deduction in respect of which has been wrongly made or Input Tax or special rebate credit that has been wrongly availed of and assess the tax payable on such turnover or disallow the Input Tax or special rebate credit wrongly availed of, after issuing a notice on the dealer and after making such enquiry as it may consider necessary:

Provided that before making an assessment under this sub-section the dealer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Provided further that where the escapement is due to the application of incorrect rate of tax, no assessment under this sub-section shall be made where the dealer files revised return and pays the tax which has escaped assessment alongwith interest under sub-section (5) of section 31 and thrice the interest as settlement fee.

Provided also that the period for the completion of assessments including those subjected to extension under section 25B which expires on 31st March, 2015, shall be extended up to 31st March, 2016.

Provided also that the period for proceeding to determine any assessment including those subjected to extension under section 25B which expires on 31st March, 2017, shall be extended up to 31st March, 2019.

(2) The time limit mentioned in sub-section (1) shall not apply where the turnover which escaped assessment relates to any business done by such dealer as benamidar or through a benami or where it relates to a dealer, who being liable to get himself registered under this Act and the rules made there under, has failed to do so or where the escaped turnover is on account of the dealer having claimed any Input Tax credit on the basis of any bogus or forged documents.

(3) In making an assessment under sub-section (1), the assessing authority may, if it is satisfied that the escape from assessment is due to willful non-disclosure of assessable turnover by the dealer, direct the dealer to pay, in addition to the tax assessed under sub-section (1), a penalty as provided in section 67:

Provided that no such penalty shall be imposed unless the dealer affected has had a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against such imposition.

Explanation:- For the purposes of this section, the burden of proving that the escape from assessment was not due to willful non-disclosure of assessable turnover by the dealer shall be on the dealer.

(4) The powers under sub-section (1) may be exercised by the assessing authority even though the order of assessment, if any, passed in the matter, has been the subject matter of an appeal or revision.

(5) In computing the period of limitation for the purposes of this section, the time during which the proceedings for assessment remained stayed under the orders of a Civil court or other competent authority shall be excluded.