Sale confirmation orders are appealable, but the correct forum lies only with the Divisional Commissioner.

An order confirming sale under the Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act is an original, appealable order under rule 86(1) unless the Schedule makes it conclusive. Confirmation of sale does not itself render the order non-appealable merely because the sale becomes absolute on confirmation. Read with section 247 and Schedule E, item 3 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, an appeal against an order treated as that of a Collector lies to the Divisional Commissioner. An appeal filed before the Sub-divisional Officer was therefore not competent, and the subsequent order passed by the Additional Collector was without jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether an order confirming sale under the Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961 was an original appealable order and, if so, whether the appeal lay to the Sub-divisional Officer or only to the Divisional Commissioner.

Analysis: Rule 86(1) permits an appeal from any original order passed by the Tax Recovery Officer unless the order is made conclusive by the Schedule. An order confirming sale under rule 63(1) is a distinct original order, and the fact that the sale becomes absolute on confirmation does not make the order itself conclusive. Read with section 247 and Schedule E, item 3 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, the appellate forum for an order treated as that of a Collector is the Divisional Commissioner. The appeal before the Sub-divisional Officer was therefore not competent, and the subsequent order by the Additional Collector was also without jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The confirmation order was appealable, but the appeal did not lie to the Sub-divisional Officer; it lay only to the Divisional Commissioner, and the impugned orders were without jurisdiction.

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