Building tax assessment under an inapplicable provision can be rectified when the error is apparent on the record.

Section 6(3) of the Kerala Building Tax Act applies only to repairs, improvements, additions or combinations to an existing building, not to a wholly new construction. For a newly constructed building, the proper basis is Section 6(1), which uses annual value fixed by the local authority to determine capital value. An assessment made on rental basis under Section 6(3) was therefore without jurisdiction, and the patent error could be rectified under Section 15(1) after hearing the assessee. The rectification was not treated as an impermissible reassessment, and the revised assessment was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the assessing authority could invoke Section 6(3) of the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975 for a newly constructed building and whether the original assessment could be rectified under Section 15(1) of the Act as a mistake apparent from the record.

Analysis: Section 5 applies the building tax to buildings completed on or after 1 April 1973, while Section 6(1) requires annual value to be fixed by the local authority for determining capital value. Section 6(3) is confined to cases falling under Section 5(2), 5(3) and 5(4), namely repairs, improvements, additions or combinations to an already existing building, and does not extend to a wholly new construction. The original assessment made by the assessing authority on rental basis under Section 6(3) was therefore without jurisdiction. Since the correct statutory basis was Section 6(1), the error was patent and could be rectified under Section 15(1), after giving the assessee an opportunity of hearing. The rectification did not amount to an impermissible reassessment or reopening of the assessment on a fresh basis.

Conclusion: The invocation of Section 15(1) was valid, and the revised assessment was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the original assessment was made under an inapplicable provision for a new building, and the subsequent rectification to apply the proper statutory basis was lawful.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessment is made under a provision that is inapplicable to the facts and the error is evident from the record, the assessing authority may rectify it under the statute's rectification power without converting the exercise into an impermissible reassessment.

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