Right of appeal depends on grievance in the specific order; 143(1) intimation and 143(3) assessment remain separate.

A right of appeal under section 246(1) arises only from grievance in the specific order appealed against. An intimation under section 143(1) and a scrutiny assessment under section 143(3) are separate orders for this purpose, so an assessee cannot challenge one order while the grievance actually relates to the other. The doctrine of merger does not extinguish the earlier intimation merely because a later assessment is completed without fresh additions. As no adverse determination was made in the section 143(3) order, there was no live grievance from that order, and the first appellate authority was justified in treating the appeal as infructuous.

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Issues: Whether the assessee could maintain an appeal against the assessment order under section 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 when the grievance actually related to adjustments made in the intimation under section 143(1), and whether the first appellate authority was justified in dismissing the appeal as infructuous for want of any grievance in the assessment order.

Analysis: The right of appeal under section 246(1) arises only when the assessee is aggrieved by the specific order appealed against. An intimation under section 143(1) and an assessment under section 143(3) are independent orders for this purpose, and the assessee cannot bypass the remedy against one order by challenging the other. The doctrine of merger does not operate so as to obliterate the earlier intimation merely because a later scrutiny assessment was completed without fresh additions. Since no adverse determination was made in the order under section 143(3), there was no live grievance arising from that order, and the appeal before the first appellate authority was not maintainable on the basis urged by the assessee.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal as infructuous was upheld, and the assessee's challenge failed.

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