Nachimuthu Gounder vs Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax

Ismail, J.—Against the order of the Agricultural Income Tax Officer, Dharapuram, dated 30th August, 1975, levying agricultural Income

Tax, the petitioner preferred a revision petition to the Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax, Madras, u/s 34 of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural

Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as ""the Act""). The said officer by his impugned order dated 24th March, 1976, dismissed the revision

petition. It is against the said order that the petitioner has preferred the present revision petition, purporting to be u/s 54 of the Act. We are of the

opinion that this revision petition is not maintainable. Section 54(1) of the Act, as far as it is relevant, states that the assessee in the case of an order

u/s 34 enhancing the assessment or otherwise prejudicial to him may prefer an application to the High Court against the order on the ground that

the Commissioner has either decided erroneously or failed to decide any question of law. In this case, admittedly, there is no question of enhancing

the assessment. The only other question is whether the order of the Commissioner can otherwise be said to be prejudicial to the petitioner herein.

We are of the opinion that so long as the Commissioner has not interfered with the order of the Agricultural Income Tax Officer and placed the

petitioner herein in a position worse than what he was when he approached the Commissioner, the order of the Commissioner merely dismissing

the revision petition filed by the petitioner cannot be said to be prejudicial to the petitioner. That is the view taken by a Bench of this court in

M.V.S. Kathirvelu Nadar Vs. Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax Madras, . Consequently, this revision petition is dismissed as not

maintainable.