Jurisdiction for reassessment under sales tax law requires an earlier assessment order by the same officer.

Jurisdiction to reopen escaped turnover under section 21 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 depended on an earlier assessment order having been passed by the same Sales Tax Officer. Where the Gorakhpur officer had only initiated proceedings under section 7(3) and closed the file without making any assessment, Explanation II to section 21(1) did not confer reassessment power on him. As the assessee's territorial jurisdiction for the relevant year had shifted to Varanasi, the Gorakhpur reassessment was without jurisdiction and could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the Sales Tax Officer, Sector 4, Gorakhpur had jurisdiction to initiate and complete reassessment proceedings under section 21 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 when no earlier assessment order had been passed by that officer and the assessee's territorial jurisdiction had shifted to Varanasi.

Analysis: The revisional court noted that the officer at Gorakhpur had only initiated proceedings under section 7(3) of the Act but had closed the file without passing any assessment order. Under Explanation II to section 21(1) of the Act, jurisdiction to reopen the assessment on escaped turnover depended on the existence of an earlier assessment order by that very officer. In the absence of any such assessment order, the officer at Sector 4, Gorakhpur could not assume jurisdiction under section 21. The assessee's territorial jurisdiction for the relevant assessment year lay with the Sales Tax Officer, Varanasi.

Conclusion: The reassessment order was without jurisdiction and the revision failed.

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