82. Appeal to the appellate authority

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 86, an appeal against any order of an Assistant Commissioner, a Commercial Taxes Officer, an Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer or Junior Commercial Taxes Officer or Incharge of a check–post or barrier shall lie to the appellate authority.

(2) The appeal shall be presented within sixty days of the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is communicated; but the appellate authority may admit an appeal even after the said period of sixty days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the said period.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub–section (4) of section 38, no appeal under this section shall be entertained unless it is accompanied by a satisfactory proof of the payment of tax and other amounts admitted by the appellant to be due from him or of such instalment thereof as might have become payable and in case of an appeal from an ex–parte assessment order, five percent of, and in other cases ten percent of the “disputed tax amount”.

(4) Notwithstanding that an appeal has been preferred to the appellate authority, the tax or any other sum shall, subject to the provisions contained in sub–sections (4) and (5) of section 38, be paid in accordance with the order against which appeal has been preferred.

(5) The appeal shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in the prescribed manner.

(6) The following shall have the right to be heard at the hearing of the appeal, –

(a) the appellant, either in person or by the authorised representative;

(b) the authority or officer against whose order the appeal has been preferred either in person or by a representative.

(7) The appellate authority may, before disposing of any appeal make such further enquiry as it thinks fit, or may direct the assessing authority or the officer against whose order appeal has been preferred to make further enquiry and report the result of the same to the appellate authority and in disposing of the appeal the said authority may,–

(a) in the case of an order of assessment, interest or penalty,–

(i) confirm, enhance, reduce or annul the assessment, interest or penalty; or

(ii) set aside the order of assessment, interest or penalty and direct the assessing authority to pass fresh order after such further enquiry as may be directed; and

(b) in the case of any other order, confirm, cancel, vary or remand such order.

(8) The appellate authority shall send a copy of the order passed by it to the appellant, the assessing authority or such authority against whose order the appeal has been preferred, the Deputy Commissioner (Administration) concerned and the Commissioner.