“Apart from the above, as mentioned earlier, the assessee had filed its returns much before the assessment order was served on it. This Court had occasion to consider the validity of such assessment order in a series of decisions. It has been uniformly held that the assessment order becomes effective only when it is issued from the office of the assessing authority. In T.C.C No.6 of 1981, a Division Bench of this Court has taken the view that assessment will not be over until the assessment is communicated to the assessee. The assessment order becomes operative only on service on the party intended to be affected thereby. In Govt. Wood Workshop v. State of Kerala (1987 1 KLT 804), another Division Bench had occasion to consider a similar question and following the view taken by a Bench of this Court in T.R.C.S Nos. 15 and 16 of 1981, it was held that the order of any authority cannot be said to be passed unless it is in some way pronounced or published or the party affected has the means of knowing it. It is not enough if the order is made, signed and kept in the file, because such order may be liable to change at the hands of the authority who may modify it, or even destroy it, before it is made known, based on subsequent information, thinking or change of opinion. To make the order complete and effective, it should be issued, so as to be beyond the control of the authority concerned, foir any possible change or modification therein. By applying the above principle it has to be taken
