18Appeals to Appellate Tribunal

(1) Any assessee aggrieved by an order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 15, or an order passed by the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner under any provision of this Act, may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order.

(2) The Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner may, if he objects to any order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) under any provision of this Act, direct the Assessing Officer to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the order.

(3) Every appeal under sub-section (1) or 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 communicated to the assessee or to the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner, as the case may be.

(4) The Assessing Officer or the assessee, as the case may be, on receipt of notice that an appeal against the order of the 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 or any part thereof, 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 Commissioner (Appeals), 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 (3).

(5) The Appellate Tribunal may admit an appeal or permit the filing of a memorandum of crossobjections after the expiry of the period referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4), if —

(a) it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not presenting it within that period; and

(b) the delay in filing the appeal does not exceed a period of one year.

(6) An appeal to the Appellate Tribunal shall be filed in such form, and verified in such 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 as may be prescribed.

(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, in hearing and making an order on any appeal under this section, the Appellate Tribunal shall exercise the same powers and follow the procedure as it exercises and follows in hearing and making an order on any appeal under the Income-tax Act.