Jurisdictional validation by amendment can cure earlier defects and retrospectively protect tax assessments under the amended scheme.

An assessment made by a Commercial Tax Officer (Intelligence) was challenged on the ground that earlier law had invalidated State-wide conferral of jurisdiction and concurrent territorial assignments without guiding norms. The amended section 4 authorised the State Government to assign jurisdiction to specified areas or to the whole State, and section 38(4) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1985 validated the earlier Government Orders by deeming them incorporated in the original notification. Read with the amended scheme, the validating provision cured the jurisdictional defect and retrospectively protected past assessments; the officer was also treated as having jurisdiction over the relevant districts in any event.

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Issues: Whether the assessment made by the Commercial Tax Officer (Intelligence) for the relevant assessment years was jurisdiction and invalid in view of the earlier ruling striking down State-wide conferral of jurisdiction, and whether the amendment to section 4 read with the validating provision in section 38(4) of the Amendment Act cured the defect and validated the assessment.

Analysis: The earlier defect arose because, under the unamended section 4, territorial jurisdiction could not be extended to the whole State and concurrent jurisdiction over several officers without guiding norms was treated as ultra vires and discriminatory. The amended section 4 enlarged the power of the State Government to assign jurisdiction either to specified areas or to the whole State of Andhra Pradesh. Section 38(4) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1985 further validated the amendments made by the relevant Government Orders and deemed them to have always been incorporated in the original notification, thereby removing the infirmity noticed earlier. The validating provision, read with the amended scheme, supplied the necessary guidance and retrospectively protected the assessments. The Tribunal was also right in noticing that the officer had jurisdiction over the relevant districts in any event.

Conclusion: The assessment was held to be within jurisdiction and valid, and the challenge to the officer's authority failed.

Final Conclusion: The validating amendment and the amended jurisdictional provision sustained the assessments, so the revisions were not entitled to interference.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory amendment that enlarges the jurisdictional power of the assessing authority, coupled with an express validating provision deeming the earlier notifications incorporated and protecting past assessments, cures the defect of jurisdiction and retrospectively validates assessments made under the amended scheme.

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