Rectification notice time-barred where statutory three-year limit expired before issuance under Kerala sales tax law.

Rectification under section 43 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act is confined to errors apparent on the face of the record and must be initiated within three years from the date of the order sought to be rectified. On the stated dates, the three-year period expired before the rectification notice was issued, so the notice was time-barred. The operative legal effect is that a rectification notice issued after the statutory period is illegal and liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the rectification notice issued under section 43 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 was barred by limitation.

Analysis: Section 43 permits rectification of an error apparent on the face of the record within three years from the date of the order sought to be rectified. The original compounding order was dated 1 October 1994, so the period for rectification expired on 30 September 1997. The notice proposing rectification was issued on 9 February 1998, which was beyond the prescribed period.

Conclusion: The rectification was barred by limitation and the impugned notices were illegal and liable to be quashed, in favour of the assessee.

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