Appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals)

(1) Any person, other than State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), dissatisfied with any order passed by a Commissioner or an Officer of Inland Revenue under sub-section (2A) of section 120, section 121,122, 143, 144, 162, 170, 182, or 205 , or an order under sub- section (1) of section 161 holding a person to be personally liable to pay an amount of tax, or an order under clause (f) of sub-section (3) of section 172 declaring a person to be the representative of a non-resident person or an order giving effect to any finding or directions in any order made under this Part by the Commissioner (Appeals), I Appellate Tribunal, High Court or Supreme Court , or an order under section 221 refusing to rectify the mistake, either in full or in part, as claimed by the taxpayer or an order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund or otherwise increasing the liability of the person , may prefer an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) against the order :
Provided that an aggrieved person under sub-section (1) may have the option to either file appeal before Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) directly or may surrender his right of appeal before Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) and avail the next statutory appellate forum by filing the appeal directly before the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue.
(2) No appeal under sub-section (1), shall be made by a taxpayer against an order of assessment unless the taxpayer has paid the amount of tax due under sub section (1) of section 137.
(3) An appeal under sub-section (1) shall —
(a) be in the prescribed form;
(b) be verified in the prescribed manner;
(c) state precisely the grounds upon which the appeal is made;
(d) be accompanied by the prescribed fee specified in sub-section (4); and (e) be lodged with the Commissioner (Appeals) within the time set out in sub-section (5).
(3A) The Board may prescribe mechanism for electronic filing of the appeals.
(4) The prescribed fee shall be —
(a) in the case of appeal against an assessment-
(i) where the appellant is a company, five thousand rupees; or (ii) where the appellant is not a company, two thousand and five hundred rupees; or (b) in any other case —
(i) where the appellant is a company, five thousand rupees; or (ii) where the appellant is not a company, one thousand rupees.
(5) An appeal shall be preferred to the Commissioner (Appeals) within thirty days of the following—
(a) where the appeal relates to any assessment or penalty, the date of service of the notice of demand relating to the said assessment or penalty, as the case may be; and (b) in any other case, the date on which the order to be appealed against is served.
(6) The Commissioner (Appeals) may, upon application in writing by the appellant, admit an appeal after the expiration of the period specified in sub-section (5) if the Commissioner (Appeals) is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from lodging the appeal within that period.