Limitation under a separate revisional power cannot be imported into Section 34(8A) proceedings without clear statutory wording.

Section 34(8A) of the Gujarat VAT Act was treated as a distinct power from the Commissioner's revisional power under Section 35: the former applies during ongoing proceedings when evasion, incorrect disclosure, or wrongful excess credit is found, while the latter operates after assessment in specified escaped or under-assessed cases. On that reasoning, the limitation period attached to Section 35 was viewed as not automatically applicable to proceedings under Section 34(8A), because no such restriction is expressed in that provision. The HC disagreed with the view that Section 35's limitation governs Section 34(8A) and directed placement of the matter before the Chief Justice for constitution of a Full Bench.

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Issues: Whether the period of limitation prescribed under Section 35 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 applies to proceedings under Section 34(8A) of that Act.

Analysis: Section 34(8A) operates where, during the course of proceedings under the Act, the prescribed authority finds evasion of tax, incorrect disclosure, or wrongful claim of excess tax credit in relation to a transaction or claim. Section 35, in contrast, confers a separate revisional power on the Commissioner after assessment under Sections 32, 33 or 34 when escaped assessment, under-assessment, lower rate assessment, wrongful deduction, or wrongful credit is noticed. The two provisions were treated as operating in different fields and in different circumstances. On that basis, the limitation attached to Section 35 was viewed as not automatically governing proceedings under Section 34(8A), since doing so would introduce a restriction not found in Section 34(8A) itself.

Conclusion: The Court expressed disagreement with the view that the limitation under Section 35 applies to proceedings under Section 34(8A) and directed that the matter be placed before the Hon'ble Chief Justice for constitution of a Full Bench to consider the questions framed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where two statutory powers operate in distinct fields and the later provision contains no limitation period, the limitation attached to a separate revisional provision cannot be imported into that provision by interpretation alone.

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