JUDGMENT

 Leave granted in SLP (C) Nos. 3920-23/1977.

2. All these appeals raise a common question and can be disposed of by a common order. In all these cases the respondents assessees filed either applications for registration under Section 184 of the Income-tax Act or a declaration for continuance of registration under the same section. Section 184(4) requires the application to be made before the end of the previous year for the assessment year in respect of which registration is sought but the proviso to the subsection empowers an Income-tax Officer to entertain the application if he is satisfied that the firm was prevented by sufficient cause from making an application before the end of the previous year. Likewise, sub-section (7) of Section 184 requires that the declaration should be made within the time allowed therefor. But the sub-section also permits the Income-tax Officer, if he is satisfied that the firm was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing the declaration within the time allowed, to allow the firm to furnish the declaration at any time before the assessment is made. In the present cases, however, the Income-tax Officer was not satisfied that there was sufficient cause which prevented the assessees from filing their applications or declarations within the time allowed. He, therefore, completed the assessments of the respondents taking their status as unregistered firm.

3. The assessees preferred appeals to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The short question before us is whether these applications were maintainable. The Departments case is that these appeals are not maintainable inasmuch as section 246, which deals with the subject-matter of the appeals before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, does not provide for an appeal from an order under Section 184(4) or under Section 184(7). This view has been accepted in a number of judicial decisions on which Sh. Ahuja relies before us.

4. On the other hand, the respondents rely on the terms of Section 185(l), (2) and (3). These sub-sections, as they stood originally read as under:

"Section 185.-- Procedure on receipt of application.

(1) On receipt of an application for the registration of a firm, the Income-tax Officer shall inquire into the genuineness of the firm and its constitution as specified in the instrument of partnership, and

(a ) if he is satisfied that there is or was during the previous year in existence a genuine firm with the constitution so specified, he shall pass an order in writing registering the firm for the assessment year ;

(b) if he is not so satisfied, he shall pass an order in writing refusing to register the firm.

(2) The Income-tax Officer shall not reject an application for registration merely on the ground that the application is not in order, but shall intimate the defect to the firm and give it an opportunity to rectify the defect in the application within a period of one month from the date of such intimation.

(3) If the defect is not rectified within such time, the Income-tax Officer may reject the application."

Civil Appeal No. 5552/ 90 which is the case of under Section 184(7) relates to the assessment year 1971-72. With effect from 1-4-71, Section 185(2) and (3) were amended to read as follows:

"Section 185.- - Procedure on receipt of application. -

(2) Where the Assessing Officer considers that the application for registration is not in order, he shall intimate the defect to the firm and give it an opportunity to rectify the defect in the application within a period of one month from the date of such intimation; and if the defect is not rectified within that period, the Assessing Officer shall, by order in writing, reject the application.

(3) Where the Assessing Officer considers that the declaration furnished by a firm in pursuance of sub-section (7) of Section 184 is not in order, he shall intimate the defect to the firm and give it an opportunity to rectify the defect in the declaration within a period of one month from t