Revisional power must be exercised within the statutory five-year limit, or the revision is without jurisdiction.

Revisional power under Section 21(1) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 had to be exercised within five years from the assessment order. The High Court noted that the assessment order was dated 23.05.1996, while the revisional order was passed on 27.09.2004, well beyond the prescribed period. As the revision was taken after expiry of the statutory limit, it was without jurisdiction and liable to be quashed. The consequential demand and recovery action founded on the revisional and appellate orders could not survive.

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Issues: Whether the revisional order under Section 21(1) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 was valid when passed nearly eight years after the assessment order.

Analysis: The assessment order had been passed on 23.05.1996 and the revisional order on 27.09.2004. The applicable legal position, as affirmed by the Supreme Court, was that the power of revision under Section 21 of the Act could be exercised only within five years from the date of the assessment order. Since the revisional action was taken beyond that period, it was outside the permissible limitation for exercise of revisional power.

Conclusion: The revisional order was beyond the five-year period and was liable to be quashed.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the consequential demand and recovery action based on the impugned revisional and appellate orders could not stand.

Ratio Decidendi: Revisional power under Section 21 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 must be exercised within the prescribed five-year period from the assessment order, and any revision beyond that limit is without jurisdiction.

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