Reassessment on identical material is barred as a mere change of opinion when no new facts emerge.

Reassessment under Section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 cannot be sustained where it rests on the same material already examined in the original assessment. If the assessing authority had considered the disclosed facts and accepted the assessee's claim earlier, a later reopening on identical material amounts to a mere change of opinion and is not a valid basis for reassessment. In the absence of any new material, the reassessment was invalid and the Tribunal was right in setting it aside; the Revenue's revision failed.

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Issues: Whether reassessment under Section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 could be sustained when it was founded on the same material that had already been considered in the original assessment, or whether such reopening was barred as a mere change of opinion or non-application of mind.

Analysis: The material forming the basis of the original assessment and the reassessment was identical. The assessing authority had already examined the disclosed facts and accepted the assessee's claim in the original proceedings. On that same material, the reassessment could not be justified merely because a different view was later taken. In such a situation, reopening would amount at best to a change of opinion, and the law does not permit reassessment on that ground. The absence of any new material meant that the reassessment could not be supported as a valid exercise under Section 21.

Conclusion: The reassessment was invalid and the Tribunal was in setting it aside. The revision filed by the Revenue failed.

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