Provisional assessment survives quashing of regular assessment and remains valid for tax collection under the statutory scheme.

A provisional assessment under the Business Profits Tax Act, 1947 operates independently for collection purposes and is not extinguished by a later regular assessment. Because the provisional assessment is not appealable and continues until substituted by a valid regular assessment, quashing the regular assessment as void or non est does not affect its survival. Amounts paid under the provisional assessment therefore remain valid, and any recovery or refund depends only on the statutory scheme. The same approach was supported by earlier analogous case law on provisional and regular assessments under similar taxing statutes.

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Issues: Whether, on the quashing of a regular assessment under the Business Profits Tax Act, 1947, the provisional assessment made under that Act survives.

Analysis: The provisional assessment machinery under the Business Profits Tax Act, 1947 was held to be substantially similar to the corresponding scheme under the Income-tax Act, 1922. A provisional assessment is made to determine tax payable pending regular assessment, is not appealable, and remains operative until a regular assessment is made. The existence of a later regular assessment does not cause the provisional assessment to merge or disappear. Where the regular assessment is quashed as void or non est, the provisional assessment is not affected, and amounts paid under it remain valid payments. The view was reinforced by the analogous construction adopted in earlier case law dealing with provisional and regular assessments under similar taxing statutes.

Conclusion: The provisional assessment survives the quashing of the regular assessment and continues to hold the field.

Ratio Decidendi: A provisional assessment under a taxing statute remains an independent and valid assessment for collection purposes and does not merge in, or stand extinguished by, a regular assessment; if the regular assessment is annulled or quashed, the provisional assessment survives and the tax paid under it remains recoverable only to the extent permitted by the statutory scheme.

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