https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=191213 A refusal to entertain an income-tax appeal as time-barred is not an appellate order on merits under Section 31 because the assessment is never examined or confirmed. Only when an appeal is admitted and decided on merits does the appellate authority act under Section 31 by confirming, reducing, enhancing, annulling, or setting aside the assessment. As no Section 31 order existed, the statutory condition for invoking reference jurisdiction under Section 66(2) was absent, and the High Court could not require the Commissioner to state a case. en-us Fri, 01 Mar 1935 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 24 Mar 2017 18:53:57 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=191213 A refusal to entertain an income-tax appeal as time-barred is not an appellate order on merits under Section 31 because the assessment is never examined or confirmed. Only when an appeal is admitted and decided on merits does the appellate authority act under Section 31 by confirming, reducing, enhancing, annulling, or setting aside the assessment. As no Section 31 order existed, the statutory condition for invoking reference jurisdiction under Section 66(2) was absent, and the High Court could not require the Commissioner to state a case. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 01 Mar 1935 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=191213