Rectification cannot reopen a debatable sales tax issue merely because of a later Supreme Court decision.

Rectification under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 is limited to an obvious mistake apparent on the face of the record and cannot be used to revisit a debatable question of law on the basis of a later Supreme Court ruling. Because the goods were not declared goods, the prior decision did not involve the same statutory position as Shanmuga Traders, and the issue of exemption on second sales remained highly disputable. Rectification was therefore unavailable, and rejection of the rectification petition was upheld.

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Issues: Whether rectification under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 could be invoked on the basis of a subsequent Supreme Court decision to reopen the earlier appellate order and grant exemption on second sales of voltage stabilizers.

Analysis: Rectification is confined to a mistake apparent on the face of the record, that is, an obvious and patent error which does not require fresh investigation of facts or elaborate argument. A later decision does not by itself justify rectification where the original issue turns on a debatable question of law. The Supreme Court decision in Shanmuga Traders concerned declared goods taxed at a single point, whereas the goods in question were not declared goods. The Court also noted that the earlier sale was not a taxable sale and that the dispute raised a highly disputable question of law, outside the limited scope of section 55.

Conclusion: Rectification under section 55 was not available, and the rejection of the rectification petition was . The petition was dismissed.

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