Rectification cannot cure an exemption claim when the supporting facts were never on the assessment record.

Rectification under section 62 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act was unavailable where the exemption claim had not been raised at assessment and the supporting facts were not already on record. A mistake apparent from the record must be discernible from the existing assessment material without fresh evidence or further enquiry. Because the assessee had not furnished the facts and figures needed to establish that the transactions were sales in the course of import, failure to apply the exemption did not amount to a rectifiable mistake. The Tribunal's view was therefore incorrect, and the issue was decided against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was correct in holding that rectification under section 62 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 was permissible when the claim for exemption had not been made at the assessment stage and the relevant facts were not on record.

Analysis: The record showed that the assessee had not claimed exemption on the basis of the Supreme Court decision in K.G. Khosla and Co. and had not furnished the facts and figures necessary to support such a claim during assessment. The assessing authority therefore had no occasion to examine whether the transactions were sales in the course of import. The governing test was that a mistake is apparent from the record only if it can be discerned from the assessment record as it stands, without requiring fresh evidence or further enquiry. Where the relevant facts remain to be established, failure to apply the correct law does not amount to a mistake apparent from the record. The Tribunal's reliance on authorities dealing with obvious mistakes did not assist the assessee because the material necessary to support the exemption claim was admittedly absent from the record.

Conclusion: Rectification under section 62 was not available on these facts, and the Tribunal's view was incorrect. The questions were answered against the assessee and in favour of the department.

Ratio Decidendi: A mistake is apparent from the record only when it is ascertainable from the existing assessment record without fresh investigation of facts; if the exemption claim depends on facts not already on record, rectification is not permissible.

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