Special appellate remedy under section 10A prevails over general assessment appeal for the same tax adjustment issue.

Section 10A of the Indian Excess Profits Tax Act, 1940 was treated as a special appellate code for decisions on the purpose of a transaction and the resulting adjustment. The general appeal route under section 17(1) applied to assessment matters as such, not to the specific section 10A decision. Reading both routes as available for the same grievance would create anomalous concurrent appeals to the same Tribunal. Applying the principle that a special provision prevails over a general one, the section 10A appeal was treated as the exclusive remedy for that issue, and a section 17(1) appeal was considered incompetent for the section 10A decision.

---

---

Issues: Whether, in respect of a decision of the Excess Profits Tax Officer under section 10A of the Indian Excess Profits Tax Act, 1940, an assessee had only a direct appeal to the Appellate Tribunal under section 10A(3), or also a further appeal under section 17(1) to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and then under section 19(2) to the Tribunal.

Analysis: Section 10A(3) created a special appellate remedy against a decision under section 10A, while section 17(1) was a general appeal provision against an assessment. The scheme of the Act showed that the special remedy under section 10A was confined to the Officer's decision on the purpose of the transaction and the resulting adjustment, whereas objections to the assessment as such fell under section 17(1). Reading the provisions as permitting both routes for the same grievance would produce an anomalous result of two concurrent appeals, one direct and one indirect, to the same Tribunal. Applying the rule that a special provision governs over a general one and avoiding an absurd construction, the special appeal under section 10A was treated as the exclusive remedy for the matter decided under that section.

Conclusion: The appeal under section 17(1) was incompetent in relation to the section 10A decision, and the questions referred were answered in favour of the Revenue.

---