Rectification for patent error of law was upheld where adequate notice existed and no prejudice from the correction was shown.

A patent error of law apparent from the record can be rectified where the earlier appellate order rested on a legal basis later overruled by the Supreme Court. The Tribunal held that a mistake may be brought to its notice by the Department without affecting jurisdiction to rectify it, and rejected the objection that a fresh notice was required because the dealer had adequate notice of the point to be corrected and showed no prejudice. The rectification proceedings were therefore maintainable, the earlier allowance of the appeals was set aside, and the appeals were restored for hearing on merits.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Tribunal could rectify its earlier appellate order on the ground of a mistake apparent from the record, and whether the Department's request and the notice procedure vitiated the rectification proceedings.

Analysis: The appeals had been allowed earlier on the footing that the notice period under the sales tax rules required 15 clear days, relying on a High Court decision that had later been overruled by the Supreme Court. The Tribunal held that a patent error of law had entered its earlier order because the governing principle from the Supreme Court made the earlier basis unsustainable. It further held that a mistake may be brought to the Tribunal's notice by the Department and that such intimation does not deprive the Tribunal of jurisdiction to rectify a mistake apparent from the record. The objection that a fresh notice was necessary was rejected because the dealer had been informed of the matter to be corrected and no prejudice was shown.

Conclusion: The rectification proceedings were maintainable, and the earlier appellate order was liable to be corrected.

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal set aside its earlier allowance of the appeals, restored the appeals to file, and directed that they be heard on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: A patent error of law apparent from the record can be rectified even when the mistake is pointed out by the Department, and a fresh notice is unnecessary where the party concerned has adequate notice of the matter to be corrected and no prejudice is caused.

---