(1) Any person aggrieved by an order passed under this Act by a taxing authority lower in rank than a Deputy Commissioner of Taxes, may appeal to the Appellate Authority, in the manner as may be prescribed, within sixty days from the date of receipt of such order.

(2) Where the Appellate Authority is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of sixty days, it may admit an appeal after the expiry of the said period provided it is presented within a further period of one hundred eighty days.

(3) The appeal shall be in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner. It shall specify in detail the grounds upon which it is made and shall be accompanied by such documents as may be prescribed.

(4) No appeal shall be entertained by the Appellate Authority unless it is satisfied that such amount of the tax, penalty or interest, as the case may be, as the appellant may admit to be due from him, has been paid.

(5) No appeal by a person shall be entertained by an Appellate Authority unless such appeal is accompanied by satisfactory proof of payment of minimum twenty five per cent of the disputed tax, penalty, if any, imposed and the interest accrued thereon, if any:

Provided that such authority may stay the recovery of the full or part of the balance amount of tax, interest and penalty, till disposal of the appeal.

(6) Where an order staying proceedings of recovery of any tax or other amount is made in any proceedings relating to an appeal, the Appellate Authority shall dispose of the appeal within a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of such order.

(7) If such appeal is not so disposed of within the period specified in sub-section (6) for the reasons attributable to the appellant, the order of stay shall stand vacated after the expiry of the said period.

(8) The Appellate Authority may, at the hearing of an appeal, after giving the authority which passed the order under appeal a reasonable opportunity of being heard, allow an appellant to go into any ground of appeal not specified in the grounds of appeal, or to produce any evidence whether oral or documentary, not produced at any earlier stage of the proceedings in so far as such ground or evidence does no relate to any matter or facts relating to any claim not made before the lower authority, if the Appellate Authority is satisfied that the omission of that ground from the grounds of appeal or the failure to produce the evidence at the earlier state was not willful or unreasonable.

(9) The appellant shall serve a copy of the appeal memo to the authority against whose order the appeal is filed.

(10) The Appellate Authority shall fix a day and place for the hearing of the appeal and shall give notice of the same to the appellant and the tax authority against whose order the appeal is preferred.

(11) The Appellate Authority, after calling for and examining the relevant records and making such further inquiry as may be necessary, may-

(a) confirm, reduce, enhance, or annul the decision or order appealed against; or

(b) consider and decide any matter arising out of the proceedings in which the order appealed against was passed, irrespective of the fact that such matter has not been raised before it by the appellant or that no order has been made in the said proceedings regarding such matter for any reason whatsoever.

Explanation I- Omitted we.f. 26-04-2013.

Explanation, II- In disposing of an appeal, the Appellate Authority may summarily reject the appeal if the requirements of this section and the rules framed thereunder are not complied with.

(12) The order of the Appellate Authority disposing of the appeal shall be in writing and shall state the points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision. On the disposal of the appeal, the Appellate Authority shall communicate the order passed by it to the appellant, the tax authority whose order was appealed against and the Commissioner.

(13) All appeals arising out of the same cause of action in respect of an assessment year shall be heard and decided together.

(14) An order passed under this section shall, subject to the other provisions of this Act, be final.

(15) Any Appellate Authority who had previously dealt with any case coming up before it in any other capacity or is personally interested in any case coming up before it shall be disqualified to hear that case. The Commissioner may, by an order, transfer such case to any other Appellate Authority for adjudication.

(16) In every appeal, the Appellate Authority, where it is possible, hear and decide such appeals within a period of one year from the end of the financial year in which such appeal is filed before it.

(17) No appeal shall lie against,-

(a) an order withholding a refund; or

(b) a notice issued under this Act calling upon a dealer for assessment or asking a dealer to show cause as to why he should not be prosecuted for an offence under this Act; or

(c) an order pertaining to the seizure or retention of books of accounts, registers and other documents; or

(d) an order sanctioning prosecution under the provisions of this Act; or

(e) an order refusing to compound any offence; or

(f) an interim order passed in the course of any proceedings under this Act; or

(e) such other order as may be prescribed.