Appealability of cancelled registration renewal confirmed where cancellation is treated as refusal to renew under income-tax law.

An order cancelling the renewal certificate of a firm's registration under the Income-tax Rules was treated as the practical equivalent of refusing renewal. Reading section 30(1) with section 26A and the renewal procedure, the Court held that the appellate right against refusal to register a firm was wide enough to cover cancellation of renewal granted under rule 6B. The order was therefore appealable, and the question was answered in the assessee's favour.

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Issues: Whether an order cancelling the renewal certificate of registration of a firm under the Income-tax Rules was appealable under section 30(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

Analysis: The relevant scheme of section 26A and the rules framed thereunder showed that an application for renewal of registration was to be dealt with in the prescribed manner, and that the Income-tax Officer could either renew registration, refuse renewal, or cancel a renewal already granted if the firm was found not to be genuine. The cancellation of a renewal certificate under rule 6B was treated as the practical equivalent of a refusal to renew the certificate. On a fair reading of section 30(1), the expression covering refusal to register a firm was wide enough to include such orders made under the renewal procedure.

Conclusion: The order cancelling the renewal certificate was appealable under section 30(1), and the answer to the referred question was in the affirmative, in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appellate remedy under the Act extended to cancellation of renewal of registration of a firm, so the assessee was entitled to succeed.

Ratio Decidendi: An order cancelling renewal of registration of a firm under the prescribed rules is, in substance, a refusal to renew registration and is therefore appealable where the statute confers a right of appeal against refusal to register a firm.

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