Statutory review is limited to new facts and cannot reopen a penalty order on material already known to the assessee.

Review under section 36(6)(a) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act is confined to discovery of new and important facts that were not within the applicant's knowledge despite due diligence, and it cannot be used to reargue the matter on the same material. The Tribunal had no jurisdiction to review its earlier order because the material relied on was already within the assessee's possession and there was no finding of due diligence or error apparent on the face of the record. The review order deleting the penalty was therefore unsustainable, and the original order was restored.

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Issues: Whether the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal had jurisdiction under section 36(6) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 to review its earlier order and delete the penalty on the basis of material that was already available with the assessee.

Analysis: Review under section 36(6)(a) is a statutory power and can be exercised only on discovery of new and important facts which, despite due diligence, were not within the party's knowledge or could not be produced when the order was made. The material relied upon in review was already within the assessee's possession and knowledge, and there was no finding that its earlier non-production was due to inability after due diligence. The earlier order also did not disclose any error apparent on the face of the record. A review petition cannot be used as a substitute for an appeal or as a second attempt to obtain a different result on the same materials.

Conclusion: The Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction in entertaining the review and in deleting the penalty; the review order was unsustainable and the original order was restored. The revision was allowed.

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