TMI Blog1970 (3) TMI 30X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1963-64. The revenue estimating the income of the assessee subjected the receiver, who was in charge of the estate of the assessee, and others and levied agricultural income-tax under the Madras Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1955. The revision to the Commissioner of Agricultural Income-tax failed. The present tax case is against the order of the Commissioner who passed the impugned order in exercise of his powers of revision. It is now well-established that as against the order of the Commissioner no revision lies to this court under section 54 of the Act, unless the order passed by the Commissioner is prejudicial to the assessee. It is not contended by the petitioner before us that an order prejudicial to the petitioner was passed within ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nting year is April 1, 1958, to March 31, 1959. Thus, during a part of the accounting year, the receiver was indeed functioning. This probably prompted the revenue to issue notice to Mr. Sadasiva Rao. Soon after the receipt of the said notice, Mr. Sadasiva Rao filed a return on November 19, 1962, and the said return related to the income derived from the estate during his period of office. The taxing authorities, after securing the necessary materials for the other part of the accounting year from the court records determined the total agricultural income of the assessee and also determined the sum payable by him on the basis of such assessment. This was done under section 17(3) of the Act. We have already noticed that the proceedings were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s, the Tribunal went into the question and found that the appeal was not maintainable as, in their view, the petitioner before us, who was the appellant before them, was not an assessee under the Act. Reference was made to sections 31 and 32 of the Act and the Tribunal expressed the view that, as the right of appeal is conferred only upon the assessee and that, as no assessment had been made on the petitioner the petitioner had no right to prefer the appeal and seek for a decision thereon. It is as against this order the present tax case has been filed. Section 2(e) of the Act defines the assessee as to mean a person by whom agricultural income-tax or any other sum of money is payable under the Act and includes every person in respect of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er is only a media or catalyst who passes off such income-tax on behalf of others to the coffers of the State. But, nevertheless, the money paid by the receiver is the money belonging to the person who is primarily obliged to pay the agricultural income-tax. Thus understood, the petitioner is one of such persons who is responsible to pay such tax to the revenue. Even otherwise, the facts disclose that a certified copy of the order was sent by the assessing officer to the petitioner in or about June, 1963. Again section 2(e) of the Act, which is both an explanatory definition as well as an inclusive definition, includes within the fold of assesee every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the assessment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the appeal filed by the assessee is incompetent because appeals are only creatures of the statute and as the petitioner is not an assessee, the appeal is incompetent. No doubt, appeals are creatures of statute. But, in the instant case, the petitioner should be deemed to be an assessee as he was a person primarily interested in the payment of agricultural income-tax along with his other co-sharers. In our view, the appeal filed by the petitioner under sections 31 and 32 of the Act before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and before the Tribunal are competent and maintainable. In this view, the order of the Tribunal is set aside and the matter remanded for a reconsideration of the appeal on merits. We may also add that for the ass ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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