1. The Income-tax Officer, before proceeding to make an assessment (in this section referred to as the regular assessment) under section 12, may, at any time after the expiry of the period specified in the notice issued under sub-section (1) of section 11 as that within which the return therein referred to is to be furnished, and whether the return has or has not been furnished, proceed to make in summary manner a provisional assessment of the taxable profits and the amount of business profits tax payable thereon.

2. Before making such provisional assessment the Income-tax Officer shall give notice in the prescribed form to the person on whom assessment is to be made of his intention 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 Income-tax Officer at any time within fourteen days of receipt of the said notice a statement of his objections, if any, to the amount of the proposed assessment.

3. On expiry of one month from the date of service of the notice referred to in sub-section (2), or earlier if the assessee agrees to the proposed assessment, the Income-tax 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 assessment to the assessee:

Provided that assent to the amount of the assessment, or failure to make objection to it, shall in no way prejudice the assessee in relation to the regular assessment.

4. In making any such provisional assessment the Income-tax Officer shall make allowance for any deficiencies of profits for previous chargeable accounting periods which are under the provisions of section 6 to be set off against the taxable profits of the chargeable accounting

period in respect of which the assessment is being made: Provided that, where such deficiencies of profits have not been determined under sub-section (1)   of section 12, the Income- tax Officer shall estimate the amount thereof to the best of his judgement.

5. There shall be no right of appeal against a provisional assessment made under this section,and it shall, until a regular assessment is made in due course under section 12, determine the amount of business profits tax due from the assessee.

6. If, when a regular assessment is made in due course under section 12, the amount of business profits tax payable there under is found to exceed that determined as payable by the provisional assessment, it shall be reduced by the amount determined as payable by the provisional assessment.

7. If, when a regular assessment is made in due course under section 12, the amount of business profits tax payable there under is found to be less than that determined as payable by the provisional assessment, any excess of tax paid as a result of the provisional assessment, any excess of tax paid as a result of the provisional assessment shall be refunded to the assessee, together with interest at two per cent. per annum calculated from the date of payment of such excess tax to the date of the order of refund, both days inclusive.