Limitation for tax references runs from the date of the Board's order, making late filing not maintainable.

Section 25(1) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1947 required a reference petition to be filed within ninety days from the passing of the Board's order, not from its communication to the assessee. The HC treated the limitation period as an essential statutory condition for a valid reference and relied on the contrast with Section 24(2) to show that the Legislature deliberately used the date of the order as the starting point. A reference filed after ninety days was therefore not maintainable, and the limitation objection was decided against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether a reference petition under Section 25(1) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1947, filed after the expiry of ninety days from the date of the Board's order could be entertained.

Analysis: The statutory language fixed limitation at ninety days from the passing of the Board's order, and not from the date of communication of that order to the assessee. The contrast between the wording of Section 25(1) and the different language used in Section 24(2) indicated that the Legislature deliberately chose the date of passing of the order as the starting point. The time-limit was treated as an essential statutory condition for making a valid reference, and failure to comply with it was fatal to maintainability.

Conclusion: The reference petition filed beyond ninety days was not entertainable, and the objection of limitation was decided against the assessee.

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