Right of Appeal limited to statutory appeals listed in section 30(1); non enumerated challenges do not attract appeal rights.

Right of appeal under the Income-tax appellate scheme is confined to orders specified in section 30(1); section 31 governs the forms of orders an Appellate Assistant Commissioner may pass only where a proper appeal under section 30(1) is before him. Dismissals of appeals as time-barred qualify as orders in appeal because the appeal itself exists, but challenges directed against orders not enumerated in section 30(1) do not constitute appeals under section 30 and therefore cannot generate an order under section 31. Outcome: no appeal lay to the Tribunal against the Assistant Commissioner's dismissal as incompetent.

---

---

Issues: Whether an appeal lay to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal against the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner dismissing the assessee's appeal as incompetent.

Analysis: The statutory scheme grants a right of appeal only against orders specified in section 30(1); section 31 prescribes the forms of orders an Appellate Assistant Commissioner may pass when disposing of such an appeal. An order can be treated as passed under section 31 only where a proper appeal as contemplated by section 30(1) is before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Orders dismissing appeals that are merely time-barred have been treated as orders in appeal because the appeal itself exists albeit barred by time. By contrast, an application or challenge directed against an order which is not one of those enumerated in section 30(1) does not constitute an appeal within section 30 and therefore cannot give rise to an order under section 31. Applying these principles, the impugned challenge was directed against an order not covered by section 30(1); consequently no appeal as contemplated by section 30 was before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and his dismissal of the challenge cannot be regarded as an order under section 31 conferring a right of appeal to the Tribunal.

Conclusion: Answer: No. No appeal lay to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal against the Appellate Assistant Commissioner's order dismissing the appeal as incompetent; the Tribunal's view upholding that position is correct.

---