Revisional jurisdiction cannot be re-invoked for the same relief after a superior authority has already declined the request.

Once the assessee had invoked the revisional jurisdiction of the superior revenue authority on the same relief and that authority declined interference, the subordinate revisional authority was not required to entertain a ed request on identical grounds. The Tribunal was justified in refusing interference because the Deputy Commissioner had declined to exercise revisional power after the assessee had already pursued the same subject-matter before the higher authority. In these circumstances, the refusal to grant relief was upheld and the assessee's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was justified in refusing to interfere with the Deputy Commissioner's order dismissing the assessee's revision petition, where the assessee had already invoked the revisional jurisdiction of the superior revenue authority on the same relief and the superior authority had declined to exercise its powers.

Analysis: The assessment had been allowed to become final and the assessee first moved the Board of Revenue under section 34 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. After that revision was rejected, the assessee approached the Deputy Commissioner under section 32 of the same Act on the same grounds. The Deputy Commissioner declined to entertain the request because a superior revisional authority had already been approached and had rejected the relief sought. The Tribunal, in turn, declined interference because the Deputy Commissioner had not passed a merits-based revisional order. The governing principle applied was that once a superior authority has been moved and has dealt with the matter, a subordinate authority should not be asked to exercise revisional power to grant the same relief on the same grounds. In such circumstances, the Tribunal had no basis to interfere merely because the Deputy Commissioner had not gone into the merits of the assessment.

Conclusion: The rejection of the revision petition and the Tribunal's refusal to interfere were upheld. The issue was decided against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to relief through the subordinate revisional forum after invoking and failing before the superior revisional authority, and the petition stood dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a superior revisional authority has already been approached and has declined relief on the same subject-matter, a subordinate revisional authority cannot be compelled to exercise revisional power to grant the same relief, and an appellate forum need not interfere with such refusal.

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