Section 74 in The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1991
74. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal.
(1)Any assessee aggrieved by any of the following orders may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order.(a)an order passed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), under section 72;(b)an order Imposing a penalty by an Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, or Deputy Commissioner.(c)any order referred to in sub-section (2A) of section 72.(2)Any Officer empowered by the Government in this behalf may if he objects to any order, passed under section 72, appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order,(3)Every appeal under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) shall be filed within a period of sixty days from the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is served to the, assessee or to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner as the case may be.(4)The Officer empowered by the Government under sub-section (2) or the assessee as the case may be, on receipt of notice that an appeal against the order of the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) has been preferred under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) by the other party, may notwithstanding that he may not have appealed against such order, within thirty days of the receipt of the notice, file a, memorandum of cross objections, verified in the prescribed manner against any part of the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner and such memorandum shall be disposed of by the Appellate Tribunal, as if it were an appeal presented within the time specified in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2).(5)The Appellate Tribunal may admit an appeal or permit the filing of a memorandum of cross objections after the expiry of period referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4), if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not presenting it within that period.(6)An appeal to the Appellate Tribunal shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in the prescribed manner, and shall, except in the case of an appeal referred to in sub-section (2) or a memorandum of cross objections referred to in sub-section (4), be accompanied by a fee of five hundred rupees.(7)In respect of appeals presented before it the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving both parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, -(a)in the case of an order of assessment-(i)confirm, reduce, enhance or annul the assessment; or(ii)set aside the assessment and refer the case back to Agricultural Income Tax Officer or the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner as the case may be, for making a fresh assessment in accordance with the directions given by the Appellate Tribunal and after making such further enquiry as may be necessary, the Agricultural Income tax Officer or the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner as the case may be, shall, thereupon proceed to make a fresh assessment and determine, where necessary, the amount of tax payable on the basis of such fresh assessment; or(iii)pass such other order as the Appellate Tribunal may think fit;(b)in the case of an order imposing a penalty confirm or cancel such order or vary it so as either to enhance or to reduce the penalty; or(c)in the case of any other order, pass such order, as it thinks fit.Explanation. - The power of enhancement in this sub-section is enhancement of either the agricultural income or tax or penalty over i, and above that fixed as per the orders appealed against and the Appellate Tribunal shall have the power to enhance even if there is no appeal or cross objection by the officer empowered by Government under sub-section (2).(8)(a)When appeals are presented by the assessee and the Officer empowered by Government under sub-section (2), or cross objections are presented by either of them, against the same order of the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) both the appeals along with the cross objections, if any, shall be heard together and disposed of by a common order.(b)When the Appellate Tribunal passes any order in contravention of clause (a) of this sub-section, such order shall not be binding on the party whose appeal or cross objections is pending hearing and the Appellate Tribunal shall on application by either party to the appeal, shall proceed to re-hear the appeal, as if it was not so decided and pass orders in accordance with sub-section (7) and clause (a) of this sub-section.(9)Where, as a result of an appeal any change is made in the assessment of firm or association of persons or a new assessment of a firm, or association of persons, is ordered to be made, the Appellate Tribunal may authorise the Agricultural Income tax Officer or Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, as the case may be, to amend accordingly any assessment made on any partner of the firm, or any member of the association of persons.(10)(a)The appellant or the respondent may apply for review of any order passed by the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (7) or sub-section (8) on the basis of discovery of new and important facts, which after the exercise of due diligence, were not within his knowledge or could not be produced by him when the order was made:Provided that no such application shall be preferred more than once in respect of the same order;(b)the application for review shall be made in the prescribed manner and within one year from the date on which copy of the order to which the application related was communicated to the applicant, and where the application is preferred by the assessee, it shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred rupees.(11)Save as provided in Section 78, orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal on appeal shall be final.(12)On the disposal of an appeal or application the Appellate Tribunal shall communicate the order passed thereon to the appellant or the applicant as the case may be, the respondent, the authority against whose order the appeal was preferred the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the Commissioner.(13)Notwithstanding that an appeal has been preferred under subsection (1) the tax or other amount shall be paid in accordance with the order against which the appeal has been preferred:Provided that the Appellate Tribunal may in its discretion give such directions as it thinks fit in regard to the payment of tax before the disposal of the appeal.Provided further that where the Appellate Tribunal has passed an order of stay in an appeal, it shall dispose of the appeal within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of such order:Provided also that if such appeal is not disposed of within a period specified in the second proviso, the stay order shall stand vacated after the expiry of the said period.Explanation. - For the purpose of the second and third provisions an order of stay in an appeal passed prior to the 23rd day of July 2001, shall be deemed to have been passed on the 23rd day of July 2001.
