Statutory cancellation of assessment is not revision when the Act authorises fresh assessment on a timely application.

Section 19 of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1955 expressly permitted an assessee, on a timely application meeting the statutory conditions, to obtain cancellation of an assessment followed by a fresh assessment. The Agricultural Income-tax Officer acted within that power when he accepted the application, cancelled the original assessment and redid the assessment after hearing the assessee. That process was not a revision of the officer's own order but a lawful exercise of the statutory cancellation mechanism, so the Commissioner's contrary view was based on a misreading of section 19 and could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the cancellation of the original assessment and the subsequent fresh assessment under section 19 of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1955, were valid and whether the Commissioner could treat that cancellation as an impermissible revision.

Analysis: Section 19 expressly enabled the assessee, within the prescribed time and on satisfying the statutory conditions, to seek cancellation of the assessment and required the Agricultural Income-tax Officer to cancel the assessment and make a fresh assessment. The application was made in time, accepted by the Assessing Officer, and the assessment was cancelled and redone after hearing the assessee. That process was not a revision of the officer's own order but an exercise of the statutory power of cancellation and fresh assessment. The Commissioner's view that the Assessing Officer lacked power to revise his own order under section 19 proceeded on a misreading of the provision and was contrary to the Act.

Conclusion: The cancellation of assessment and the fresh assessment were valid, and the Commissioner's order was unsustainable and set aside, in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute expressly authorises cancellation of an assessment on a timely application satisfying stated conditions and mandates a fresh assessment thereafter, the resulting action is not a revision but a lawful exercise of the statutory cancellation power.

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