Appellate remand power under Gift-tax law includes setting aside assessment for fresh consideration.

The appellate authority under the Gift-tax Act has power to pass such order as it thinks fit, and that jurisdiction includes remand for fresh assessment. It was therefore not bound to annul the Gift-tax Officer's order merely because the assessee sought that result. Where the assessment required fresh consideration, setting aside the assessment and directing recomputation was within jurisdiction and justified; the assessee's contention failed.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner (Appeals) was bound to annul the Gift-tax Officer's order, or whether he had jurisdiction to set it aside and remand the matter for fresh assessment.

Analysis: Under the scheme of the Gift-tax Act, the appellate authority is empowered by section 22(5) to pass such order as it thinks fit, and that power includes an order of remand. The authority was therefore not obliged to quash the assessment merely because the assessee sought that result. Since the assessment suffered from a need for fresh consideration, the course adopted by the Commissioner (Appeals) in setting aside the assessment and directing recomputation was within jurisdiction and justified.

Conclusion: The assessee's contention failed. The Commissioner (Appeals) was held to have the power and justification to remand the case instead of quashing the Gift-tax Officer's order.

Ratio Decidendi: The appellate authority's power to pass such order as it thinks fit includes the power to remand, and it is not mandatory to annul the assessment where remand is an appropriate exercise of appellate jurisdiction.

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