High Court directs Tribunal to refer appeal dismissal question under Income-tax Act 1961. Order appealable under section 253.

Commissioner Of Income-Tax Versus Kalipada Ghose

Commissioner Of Income-Tax Versus Kalipada Ghose - [1987] 167 ITR 173, 60 CTR 96, 29 TAXMANN 197 Issues involved: Interpretation of sections 249(4), 250, and 253 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 regarding appeal dismissal for non-compliance with section 249(4).

Judgment Summary:

The High Court of Orissa directed the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal to refer a question regarding the appeal dismissal for non-compliance with section 249(4) of the Act. The case involved the assessee, a proprietor of a business, who had not paid the admitted tax at the time of filing appeals for the assessment years 1974-75 and 1975-76. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner rejected the appeals due to non-compliance with the new provision in section 249 introduced in 1975. The Tribunal later directed to accept the reason for non-payment of tax and admit the appeal for consideration on merits.

The Revenue contended that since the appeals were dismissed for non-compliance with section 249(4), they were not appealable under section 253. The Court analyzed sections 249(4), 250, and 253, emphasizing that any order disposing of an appeal under section 249 falls within the purview of section 250 and is appealable to the Tribunal under section 253. The Court cited a Supreme Court decision supporting this interpretation.

The Court held that the order dismissing the appeals for non-compliance with section 249(4) was appealable under section 253. The Tribunal acted lawfully in entertaining the appeals, condoning the delay, and remitting the cases for disposal on merits. The question referred was answered affirmatively by the Court.

Separate Judgment: Judge K. P. Mohapatra concurred with the decision.