Statutory right of appeal does not extend to penal interest levies unless expressly provided by the tax law.

A right of appeal exists only when the statute expressly grants it or necessarily implies it, and an order levying penal interest under section 18A(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1922 is not included among the appealable orders under section 30. The levy of interest is a separate statutory consequence for advance tax compliance and does not form part of the assessment order under section 23(3), even though it is recovered with tax under the collection provisions. Accordingly, an assessee cannot appeal against the penal interest levy under section 30 unless the statute specifically makes it appealable.

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Issues: Whether an appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner against the levy of penal interest under section 18A(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1922 is competent.

Analysis: The right of appeal is a creature of statute and must be conferred in express terms or by necessary implication. Section 30 of the Income-tax Act, 1922 enumerates the orders against which an assessee may appeal, but an order imposing penal interest under section 18A(6) is not one of them. The levy of interest under section 18A(6) is a separate statutory consequence designed to enforce correct advance estimates and is not part of the assessment of income under section 23(3). Although the interest is added to the tax for recovery purposes under section 18A(8) and collected through a demand under section 29, that does not convert it into an appealable assessment order. The statutory scheme also shows that any reduction in the assessed tax results in a corresponding reduction of interest, so the absence of a separate appeal does not create a legal gap.

Conclusion: No appeal lies under section 30 against an order levying penal interest under section 18A(6); the answer is in the negative.

Ratio Decidendi: A right of appeal against a tax-related order exists only when the statute expressly provides for it, and a levy of penal interest under section 18A(6) of the Income-tax Act, 1922 is not appealable under section 30 unless specifically included.

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