Finality of Tribunal findings bars reopening the same rejection grounds in a later appeal.

The Supreme Court held that a party cannot reopen, in a later appeal, grounds of rejection that were already negatived by the Tribunal in an earlier order and were never appealed. The earlier Tribunal order had expressly rejected the three grounds later relied on again and remanded the matter only to consider whether any other ground under the Explanation to section 4A survived. By not challenging that order, the appellant accepted that those grounds were unsustainable. The later rejection order, based on the same grounds, therefore could not be re-agitated between the same parties, and the appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether the appellant could reopen, in a later appeal, the same grounds of rejection under section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 that had already been negatived by the Tribunal in an earlier order which was not appealed.

Analysis: The earlier Tribunal order had specifically rejected the three grounds taken in the second rejection order and remanded the matter only to consider whether any other ground under the Explanation to section 4A survived. No appeal was filed against that order, so the appellant accepted the Tribunal's finding that those grounds were unsustainable. The later rejection order was passed on the very same grounds earlier rejected. In these circumstances, the appellant was not entitled to re-agitate the issue between the same parties.

Conclusion: The appeal could not succeed, as the appellant was barred from reopening the settled issue, and the dismissal of the appeal was upheld.

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