The assessment of property for taxation shall be deemed and held to be a step in the collection of taxes, and § 12-37-780 shall be construed to give full and complete power to the county auditor, independent of any right conferred upon the county boards of assessors or other officers, to secure a full and complete return of property for taxation in all cases as expressed in said sections, whether a previous return shall have been fraudulently or otherwise improperly or incompletely made or not.