1983 (3) TMI 83

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....e filed within 30 days of the date of service of demand notice. On the last day, i.e., on the 30th day, the appeals were filed in the proper form ; but these were signed by the chartered accountant of the assessee. The AAC heard the appeals on several dates, but he seems to have noticed the defect in the memorandum of appeals belatedly. By his letter dated 21-8-1981, he called upon the assessee to explain the reason why the appeals were not signed by the appellant herself. The assessee's chartered accountant replied by his letter dated 16-9-1981 that there were certain circumstances under which it was found not possible to get the appeals signed by the appellant herself. Since the last date for filing of the appeals was nearing, no option w....

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....e to file an appeal against the order of the WTO if he is aggrieved by any of the findings therein. How the appeal is to be filed is contained in that section itself. The section says that the assessee may appeal to the AAC against the assessment in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner. 5. The form required for this purpose has been given in rule 5 of the Wealth-tax Rules, 1957. Under this rule, an appeal under section 23 to the AAC should be in form 'E' and should be verified in the manner provided therein. Rule 5(2) requires the signature and the verification by the individual herself. 6. It will be noticed that the requirement of the signature by the assessee herself is not in the statute but in the rules. Now,....

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....al was held to be defective by the authorities but the Tribunal hold that the appeal was valid. The Orissa High Court upheld the view. They pointed out that the question whether non-compliance with the memo of appeal would be a nullity or not was considered by the Calcutta High Court in the case of Sheonath Singh v. CIT [1958] 33 ITR 591, wherein, after a thorough discussion of the authorities, they came to the conclusion that if there was such a defect, an opportunity should be given to rectify the defect and there was no justification to take a harsher view in relation to an appeal before the AAC. A similar decision had already been taken in another case in the case of Anirudha Behera v. Dhanu Behera 1961 ILR Cuttack 430. A similar decisi....