STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. MOOLCHAND RAMCHANDRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision has been filed on behalf of the Assessing Authority under sec. 14 (1) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954. The Facts are that the assessee was assessed to tax on certain articles of cloth by the order of the Sales Tax Officer, dated 4th Oct. , 1957 and on appeal to the Deputy Commissioner, the order of the Sales Tax Officer was set aside and it was held that the assessee was not liable to tax on sales of hand loom cloth which had been dyed or printed. THIS appellate order was passed on 4. 8. 1959. The present application for revision was presented on 30. 8. 1962. A preliminary objection has been raised by the learned counsel for the assessee that this Board cannot revise an order which has been made more than three years previously. As against this. , the learned Government Advocate has urged that the time taken for obtaining a copy of the impugned order of the Deputy Commissioner should be taken into account for the purpose of limitation. We think that the objection of the learned counsel for the assessee is valid and that the argument of the learned Government Advocate is misconceived. What the second proviso of the sec. 14 (1) says is that this Board shall not revise an order which is more than three years old on the date this Board decides to interfere. THIS is clear from the plain wording of sec. 14 (1) which is reproduced below: - 14. Revisions.- (1) The Board of Revenue may on being moved by the assessing authority, call for and examine the records of any proceedings under this act and if it considers that any order is illegal or improper or erroneous, it may pass such orders as it thinks fit; Provided that no order shall be passed prejudicial to a dealer without giving him an opportunity of being heard : Provided further that the Board of Revenue shall not revise an order which has been made more than three years previously. "

(2.) HERE the relevant consideration is not as to when the application for revision is presented in this Board, but the date on which this Board take a decision to-interfere with the impugned order. The law is that the Board can pass an order in revision at the instance of the Assessing Authority on a date which is within three years from the date of the order that is to be interfered with. The present application for revision was infructuons on the very day it was presented because a period of more than three years had elapsed since the date of the order of the Deputy Commissioner.