87. Orders and notices.-

(1) Orders and notices under the Act or under these rules shall be served by one of the following methods:

(a) by delivery by hand of a copy of the order or notice to the addressee or to a person declared by him in Form 105 or to his agent duly authorised in this behalf by him, or to a person for the time being employed by him in connection with the business in respect of which he is registered as a dealer, or to any adult member of his family residing with the dealer,

(b) by post, or courier agency

(c) by facsimile message:

(d) by sending a scanned copy or electronically generated and digitally signed copy of the order or notice by e-mail.

(e) by sending a copy of the order or notice by a courier agency appointed by the Commissioner for this purpose.

Provided that, if upon an attempt having been made to serve any such order or notice by any of the above-said methods, the sales tax authority concerned is of the opinion that the order or notice cannot be served by any of the above-mentioned methods, the said authority shall 

(A) in the case of an addressee who has no fixed or regular place of business in the State and on whom an attempt has been made to serve the notice by post or by a courier agency, but the notice is returned undelivered by the postal authorities or courier agency for want of proper address or on the ground that the addresses could not be found, cause the notice to be published in a local newspaper; or

(B) in any other case, cause the order or notice to be served by fixing a copy thereof:

(i) on some conspicuous part of the dealers office or the building in which the dealers office is located, or upon some conspicuous part of the place of the dealers business last intimated to the said authority by the dealer or of the place where the dealer is known to have been last engaged in business, or

(ii) on some conspicuous part of the residence or office of the dealer or person or the building in which his residence or office is located, and such service or publication shall be deemed to be as effectual as if the order or notice has been served on the addressee personally :

(2) When the officer or person serving an order or notice delivers or tenders a copy of the order or notice, to the dealer or addressee personally or to any of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-rule (1), he shall require the signature of the person to whom the copy is so delivered or tendered to an acknowledgement of service endorsed on the original order or notice or on a separate slip. When the notice is served by affixing a copy thereof in accordance with the clause (B) of the first proviso to sub-rule (1), the person serving it shall return the original to the sales tax authority which issued the order or notice with a report endorsed thereon or annexed thereto, stating that he so affixed the copy, the circumstances under which he did so and the name and address of the person, if any, by whom the addressees office or residence or the building in which his office or residence is located or his place of business was identified, and in whose presence the copy was affixed. The said officer shall also obtain the signature or thumb impression of the person identifying the addressees residence or office or building or place of business, to his report.

(3) When service is made by post or by a courier agency, the service shall be deemed to be effected by properly addressing or preparing the order or notice and posting it by registered post with acknowledgement due or, as the case may be, by courier agency with proof of delivery acknowledgement and unless the contrary is proved, the service shall be deemed to have been effected at the time at which the order or notice would be delivered in the ordinary course of post or, as the case may be, courier.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule, where an order, notice or any communication is made electronically and addressed to the dealer by e-mail which is provide to the department by the dealer by e-mail which is provided to the department by the dealer, then such order, notice or communication, shall be deemed to have been served on the addressee. For the purpose of this sub-rule, the provision of section 13 of the information Technology act, 2000 (21 of 2000) shall be applicable.