Suo Motu Revisional Power: statutory revision did not create an assessee's right to compel the Board or appeal a summary rejection.

Section 20 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 was construed as conferring only a suo motu revisional power on the Board of Revenue to examine the legality, propriety and regularity of proceedings. Read with the separate appellate provisions in sections 19, 21 and 22, and the limited appeal under section 23 only from orders made in exercise of section 20 power, the scheme did not create a statutory right for an assessee to compel revision. The assessee therefore had no enforceable right to move the Board for revision, and a summary rejection of such revision petitions did not support a maintainable appeal to the High Court.

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Issues: Whether section 20 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 conferred only a suo motu revisional power on the Board of Revenue, or also gave an aggrieved assessee a right to move the Board for revision and to challenge a summary rejection before the High Court.

Analysis: Section 20 authorises the Board of Revenue to call for and examine records on its own motion for the purpose of satisfying itself about the legality or propriety of orders and the regularity of proceedings. The scheme of the Act separately provides appeals under sections 19, 21 and 22, and section 23 permits an appeal to the High Court only against an order passed by the Board in the exercise of suo motu power under section 20. Reading these provisions together, the revisional jurisdiction under section 20 was held to be intended as a supervisory power to be exercised by the Board on its own initiative and not as a statutory right of application by an assessee. The authorities relied upon concerning other enactments were distinguished on the ground that their language and scheme were materially different.

Conclusion: Section 20 did not confer on the assessee any right to require the Board of Revenue to revise the matter, and the summary rejection of the revision petitions did not furnish a maintainable appeal to the High Court.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory provision conferring revisional power in suo motu terms, when read with a separate appellate scheme and a confined right of appeal, does not by itself create a justiciable right in an assessee to compel the authority to exercise that power.

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