7. Provisional assessment.-

(1) The 1[Assessing Officer], before proceeding to make an assessment under section 6 (in this section referred to as the regular assessment) may, at any time after the expiry of the period allowed under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 5 for the furnishing of the return and whether the return has or has not been furnished, proceed to make in a summary manner a provisional assessment of the chargeable profits and the amount of the surtax payable thereon.

(2) Before making such provisional assessment, the 1[Assessing Officer] shall give notice in the prescribed form to the person on whom the provisional assessment is to be made of his intension to do so, and shall with the notice forward a statement of the amount of the proposed assessment, and the said person shall be entitled to deliver to the 1[Assessing Officer] at any time within fourteen days of the service of the said notice a statement of his objections, if any, to the amount of the proposed assessment.

(3) On expiry of the said fourteen days from the date of service of the notice referred to in sub-section (2), or earlier, if the assessee agrees to the proposed provisional assessment, the 1[Assessing Officer] may, after taking into account the objections, if any, made under sub-section (2), make a provisional assessment, and shall furnish a copy of the order of the assessment to the assessee: Provided that assent to the amount of the provisional assessment, or failure to make objection to it, shall in no way prejudice the assessee in relation to the regular assessment.

(4) There shall be no right of appeal against a provisional assessment made under this section.

(5) After a regular assessment has been made, any amount paid or deemed to have been paid towards the provisional assessment made under this section shall be deemed to have been paid towards the regular assessment; and where the amount paid or deemed to have been paid towards the provisional assessment exceeds the amount payable under the regular assessment, the excess shall be refunded to the assessee.

1. Subs. by Act 4 of 1988, s.187, for "Income-tax Officer" (w.e.f.1-4-1988).

2. Ins. by Act 16 of 1981, s. 36 (w.e.f.1-4-1981).