Tribunal cannot admit a new ground that enlarges the claim and changes the dispute beyond the first appeal.

A ground raised for the first time before the Tribunal that enlarges the assessee's claim and changes the character of the dispute cannot be treated as a mere alternative ground. The Tribunal's appellate jurisdiction is confined to issues forming the subject-matter of the first appeal, and it may refuse admission of a wholly new claim that would effectively make it a first appellate forum. On that basis, the Tribunal was justified in rejecting the additional ground, and the conclusion was against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was justified in rejecting admission of an additional ground that would enlarge the assessee's claim beyond the issues raised before the lower appellate authority.

Analysis: A ground raised for the first time at the stage of hearing before the Tribunal, if it introduces a new claim and alters the complexion of the controversy, cannot be treated as a mere alternative ground. The Tribunal's second appellate function is confined to issues that formed the subject-matter of the first appeal, and permitting a wholly new ground would effectively convert the Tribunal into a first appellate authority and defeat the statutory scheme of appeals.

Conclusion: The Tribunal was in refusing to admit the ground; the answer is in the affirmative and against the assessee.

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