Rectification refusal is not an appealable assessment order; appeal lies only when rectification is actually made.

Under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, the right of appeal depended on whether the impugned order was one made appealable by section 31. An order allowing rectification under section 55 or rule 5(9) was treated as appealable because it altered the final assessment, but a refusal to rectify left the original assessment intact and did not itself become an appealable assessment order. The later insertion of section 55(4) reinforced that appeal and revision were available only against an order effecting rectification, not against a mere rejection of the request. Accordingly, no appeal lay against the refusal to rectify, and the appellate forum had no jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether an appeal lay to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner against an order of the assessing authority rejecting an application for rectification of an alleged error in the assessment.

Analysis: The right of appeal under section 31 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, depended on whether the impugned order was one of the orders made appealable by that section. An order under section 55, or under rule 5(9) of the Central Sales Tax (Madras) Rules, 1957, was appealable only when rectification was actually made, because such an order disturbed the finality of the original assessment and could be treated as an assessment order in substance. By contrast, a refusal to rectify did not alter the original assessment and left it intact. The later insertion of section 55(4) also indicated that appeal and revision attached only to an order of rectification, not to a refusal to rectify.

Conclusion: No appeal lay against the order rejecting rectification, and the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter. The revision was therefore allowed and the Tribunal's order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: An order refusing rectification does not amount to an appealable assessment or rectification order under the statute, and the appellate remedy arises only when rectification is actually made.

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