Revisional power distinct from reassessment: limitation for escaped turnover cannot be imported into suo motu revision.

The revisional power under section 21(1) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 is distinct from reassessment under section 11-A. Reassessment under section 11-A is confined to escaped or under-assessed turnover and must be exercised within its statutory period, whereas revision under section 21(1) permits the Commissioner to examine the legality or propriety of existing proceedings or orders on the record. Because section 21(1) contains no express limitation for suo motu revision, the limitation in section 11-A cannot be imported into it. The revisional jurisdiction therefore is not time-barred by the reassessment limitation.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner's revisional power under section 21(1) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, is subject to the period of limitation prescribed for reassessment under section 11-A of the Act.

Analysis: Section 11-A confers a specific power on the assessing authority to reassess escaped or under-assessed turnover within the statutory period. Section 21(1), on the other hand, confers a distinct revisional jurisdiction on the Commissioner to examine the legality or propriety of proceedings or orders already passed by assessing or appellate authorities. The revisional power is confined to the record of the proceedings under review and cannot be used to launch a fresh reassessment of escaped turnover reserved by the Act to the assessing authority. The absence of an express limitation in section 21(1) for suo motu revision means that no limitation from section 11-A can be imported into that provision. The cited Supreme Court authorities were treated as consistent with this distinction between reassessment and revision.

Conclusion: The Commissioner's power under section 21(1) is not controlled by the limitation period in section 11-A, and the answer to the reference is in the negative.

Ratio Decidendi: A revisional authority may correct the legality or propriety of an existing assessment order on the record before it, but it cannot be subjected to the limitation applicable only to reassessment proceedings unless the statute expressly so provides.

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