Broad appellate wording under the Expenditure-tax Act covers rectification orders that enhance taxable liability.

An appellate right under section 21 of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957 is not confined to assessment orders where the statute uses broad language covering objections to the amount of taxable expenditure or expenditure-tax determined "under this Act". A rectification order under section 31 that enhances the quantified liability therefore falls within the appellate provision, because the Act is not limited to appeals from specified assessment sections and its scheme contemplates appeals against any order objected to. Earlier Indian I.T. Act, 1922 authorities were distinguished on the basis of narrower wording, while the wider structure of the Expenditure-tax Act supports appealability of rectification orders.

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Issues: Whether an appeal lies under section 21 of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957 against an order of rectification passed under section 31 of that Act.

Analysis: The right of appeal is not inherent and must be expressly conferred by statute. Section 21(1)(a) and (b) of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957 are worded more widely than the corresponding appellate provision in section 30(1) of the Indian I.T. Act, 1922, because they extend to objection to the amount of taxable expenditure determined under the Act and to the amount of expenditure-tax determined as payable under the Act, without confining the appeal to an order made under a specified assessment section. The expression "under this Act" was treated as encompassing orders made under any provision of the Act, including rectification under section 31, especially because the rectification enhanced the taxable expenditure and the tax payable. The scheme of section 21, including the reference to appeal against the assessment or order and the limitation clause referring to "any order objected to", supported this wider construction. The earlier decisions under the Indian I.T. Act, 1922 were distinguished because that statute confined appeals to assessments made under specified sections, whereas the Expenditure-tax Act contained broader language. The analogy of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 also supported appealability where the appellate provision was widely framed.

Conclusion: An appeal does lie under section 21(1)(a) and (b) of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957 against an order of rectification passed under section 31 thereof, and the answer is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an appellate provision uses broad language such as objection to the amount determined or payable "under this Act", it includes a rectification order that enhances the quantified tax liability, unless the statute expressly confines appealability to specified assessment provisions.

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