Ex parte assessment orders cannot be reopened under section 30 after revisional affirmation on merits.

An ex parte assessment order under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, once examined on merits and affirmed by the revisional authority, merged into that superior decision and could not later be set aside by the assessing or appellate authority under section 30. The Act's remedial scheme did not authorise a subordinate authority to take a contrary view in the absence of express statutory power, because that would create inconsistency between authorities exercising concurrent jurisdiction and undermine finality. Section 30 was therefore unavailable in these circumstances, and the order passed under it was illegal.

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Issues: Whether an ex parte assessment order, once affirmed on merits by the superior revisional authority under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, could thereafter be set aside by the assessing or appellate authority in proceedings under section 30 of the Act.

Analysis: The Act provided a hierarchy of remedies against an assessment order, including appeal and revision, and also contained a separate power under section 30 to set aside an ex parte order. Once the assessment order had been examined on merits by the revisional authority and had merged in that superior order, the subordinate authority could not, in the absence of an express statutory provision, take a contrary view and set aside the same order under section 30. A construction permitting such a course would create inconsistency between authorities exercising concurrent jurisdiction and would undermine the finality of the superior authority's decision.

Conclusion: The answer is in the negative. Section 30 could not be invoked to set aside the assessment order after it had already been affirmed on merits by the revisional authority, and the order passed under section 30 was illegal.

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