Revised assessment under appellate directions remains appealable; statutory right of appeal attaches to the fresh assessment order.

An assessment revised or amended by the Income-tax Officer in compliance with appellate directions remains part of the statutory assessment process and is treated by substance, not label, as a fresh assessment under the Act. The right of appeal under section 30(1) attaches to such an order and cannot be denied merely because the assessment was made pursuant to appellate directions. On that basis, the revised assessment was appealable under section 23(3), and refusal to entertain the assessee's appeals was unjustified.

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Issues: Whether an order revising and amending an assessment pursuant to appellate directions is an order under section 23(3) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, so as to permit an appeal under section 30(1).

Analysis: The appellate direction to revise and amend the assessment formed part of the statutory assessment process. The substance of the Income-tax Officer's action, not its label, governed its character. A revised or amended assessment made in compliance with appellate directions was treated as a fresh assessment within the assessment scheme of the Act. The right of appeal conferred by section 30(1) was a substantive statutory right and could not be denied merely because the assessment was made in implementation of appellate directions.

Conclusion: The revised assessment was appealable as an assessment under section 23(3), and the Tribunal was not justified in refusing to admit the assessee's appeals.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the revenue, and the assessee's right to pursue the appeals against the revised assessments was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment revised by the Income-tax Officer in obedience to appellate directions remains an assessment under the Act, and the statutory right of appeal attaches to it as to any other assessment order.

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