Refund refusal as part of assessment is appealable when it directly alters tax determined under the charging scheme.

A refund claim under the proviso to section 5(4) of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957 was treated as part of the charging and assessment scheme because it directly affects the tax determined in assessment. On that basis, refusal of refund is an order of assessment under section 20 and an order relating to assessment under section 22, so appellate remedies to the Deputy Commissioner and the Appellate Tribunal are available. The Mysore HC held the Tribunal was wrong to treat the appeals as incompetent, and the later amendment was noted as confirming that orders refusing refund were intended to be appealable.

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Issues: Whether the refusal of refund under the proviso to section 5(4) of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957 formed part of the assessment so that an appeal lay under section 20 to the Deputy Commissioner and thereafter under section 22 to the Appellate Tribunal.

Analysis: The refund proviso was treated as part of the charging scheme and as a statutory modification of the assessment itself. A claim for refund, when allowed or refused, affects the tax determined in the assessment and therefore remains within the assessment proceeding. On that basis, an order refusing refund is an order of assessment under section 20 and an order relating to assessment under section 22. The later amendment was also noticed as confirming that the legislature intended appellate remedies to extend to orders refusing refund.

Conclusion: The Tribunal was wrong in holding the appeals incompetent. The refund dispute was appealable, and the assessee's revision succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a refund claim under a proviso to the charging section directly alters the tax determined in assessment, the refusal of that refund is an integral part of the assessment and is appealable as an order relating to assessment.

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