Suhas Chandra Sen, J. - (1.) The following question of law has been referred by the Tribunal to this court under Section 64(1) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 ("the Act") : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in law in holding that an appeal lay to the Appellate Controller against the order made by the Assistant Controller under Section 61 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953."
(2.) The dispute in this case was with regard to the valuation of shares of Williamson Magon and Co. Ltd. In the original estate duty assessment, the Assistant Controller had made the valuation at Rs. 101.61 per share. This order was rectified by an order under Section 61 of the Act dated December 28, 1972. Under the rectification order, the shares were valued at Rs. 162,27 per share.
(3.) Another point argued before the Tribunal was that any appeal against this order should not have been entertained by the appellate authority because the order was not appealable. It was contended that no appeal lies against the order made under Section 61 and that the order of the Appellate Controller should not have been cancelled. The Tribunal considered Section 62(1)(a) of the Act, which is as under : "62. Appeal against orders of Controller.--(1) Any person- (a) objecting- (b) (i) to any valuation made by the Controller, or ......... (c) may, within thirty days of the date of the receipt of the notice of demand under Section 73, appeal to the Appellate Controller in the prescribed form which shall be verified in the prescribed manner.";