Once a final assessment has been made, there must be a point of finality. The same issue should not be reactivated beyond a particular stage.

( 1 ) BY this sales tax revision the Commissioner of Sales Tax, U. P. , has raised the following two questions for the decision of this Court:

1. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Sales Tax Tribunal, Bareilly, was legally justified to decide the appeal involving the disputed tax of more than Rs. 10,000 by a single Member Bench instead of two Members Bench? 2. Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Sales Tax Tribunal was legally justified to hold that the assessment to order passed under Section 21, which corrected the inadvertent mistake or omission committed by the assessing authority into the original assessment order was based on change of opinion, so not legally sustainable, without going into the facts of the case fully?

( 2 ) IN the assessment year 1972-73, S/s. Madhu Chemical Works, Bareilly, was engaged in manufacture and sale of saccharin. Originally under Rule 41 (5) the disclosed turnover of the assessee was taxed at 3. 5 per cent. Subsequently, proceedings under Section 21 of the U. P. Sales tax Act (for short "the Act") were initiated against the assessee and the turnover was assessed to tax at 7 per cent. The justification for taking proceedings under Section 21 of the Act, as stated in the reassessment order, is to the following effect:

". . . Kardata dwara ghoshit saccharin ki Rs. 2,25,918. 43 ki bikri ko sweekar karte huye avargikrit vastuon ki bhanti 3. 5% ki dar se kar lagaya gaya tha. Tatapaschat mamle par punarvicharoparant yeh anubhav kiya gaya ki kardata dwara bechi gyai saccharin par kar kee dar 3. 5% na hokar chemical ki bhanti 7% ki dar se kar lagaya jana chahiya tha kyonki kardata saccharin mein soda bi carb ek nischit matra mein mishrit karte huye bartate va bechate hain aur soda bi carb milane par saccharin sadharan saccharin nahin kahi ja sakti balki sodium saccharin ho jati hai jo ki ek prakar ka chemical hai. "

( 3 ) FROM the above, it is evident that the action for reassessment was necessitated as after the original assessment and on reconsideration of the matter the Sales Tax Officer felt that assessees turnover should have been taxed at 7 per cent as "chemical". This was so, because in manufacturing saccharin the assessee adds soda-bi-carb and the product obtained thereby is a fresh chemical compound which was sold by the assessee. In the original assessment, the turnover of saccharin was taxed as unclassified commodity whereas in the reassessment order it was treated as classified item which at the relevant time was taxable at a higher rate, namely, at 7 per cent.

( 4 ) IN appeal, the Assistant Commissioner (Judicial) annulled the reassessment proceedings and consequently, set aside the reassessment order passed under Section 21 of the Act. This action of the Assistant Commissioner was upheld by the Sales Tax Tribunal in second appeal filed at the instance of the department. The Revenue has now come up in this revision under Section 11 (1)of the Act with the aforesaid two questions against the order passed by the Sales Tax Tribunal.

( 5 ) THE controversy raised by the first question is that appeal giving rise to this revision was cognizable by a Bench of the Sales Tax Tribunal consisting of two Members, whereas it was decided by a single Member, thus the impugned order passed by the Sales Tax Tribunal is a nullity.

( 6 ) SECTION 10 (10) (a) of the Act provides that an appeal against the order of the appellate authority under Section 9 shall be heard and disposed of by a Bench of two Members, where such an order is passed by a Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) or the amount of tax, fee or penalty in dispute exceeds ten thousand rupees; and by a single Member in any other case. According to the Revenue the amount of tax involved in the appeal was Rs. 16,944 and thus the appeal could have been decided by a Bench of two Members only. It may be noticed that Rs. 16,944 is the amount of tax imposed on 7 per cent on the taxable turnover. It also inclu