Doctrine of merger in tax revision does not bar rectification of the consequential order passed to implement the ruling.

Under the statutory revisional scheme, the High Court's determination of the legal question did not automatically merge the later order passed to give effect to it. The doctrine of merger was held to depend on the nature and scope of the revisional power, so the consequential order remained independently examinable under the rectification provision. The Tribunal erred in rejecting the dealer's application only on the ground of incompetence without considering the merits. The rectification application was therefore competent before the Tribunal, and the matter was remitted for fresh decision in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the dealer was required to seek rectification before the High Court on the ground that the High Court's earlier revisional order had merged in the consequential order of the revisional authority, or whether the rectification application under the sales tax law was competent before the Tribunal.

Analysis: The statutory scheme distinguished between the High Court's revisional function and the authority that finally disposed of the case in conformity with that decision. The High Court's determination of the legal question did not itself become the operative order disposing of the tax controversy, and the later order passed in conformity with that decision remained an independent order capable of being examined under the rectification provision. The doctrine of merger was held not to apply mechanically; its application depends on the nature and scope of the statutory revisional power. Since the Tribunal rejected the dealer's application only on the ground of incompetence and did not examine the merits, that view was erroneous.

Conclusion: The rectification application was competent before the Tribunal, and the dealer succeeded on this issue.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh decision on merits in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: Under the statutory revisional scheme, the High Court's decision on the question of law does not, by itself, merge and extinguish the subsequent order passed to give effect to it; the doctrine of merger applies only to the extent of the statute's actual appellate or revisional effect.

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