Section 18. Appeal against penalty

An assessee objecting to the amount of penalty shown in the notice of demand under sub-section (2) of section 16-A or45 sub-section (3) of section 1746 or denying liability for such penalty, may, within sixty days of the receipt of the said notice, prefer an appeal to the appellate authority empowered to hear appeals under section 16 who shall, after affording opportunity of being heard to the appellant as also the authority whose order is sought to be revised or their representatives, pass such orders on the appeal as it thinks fit, and shall send a copy of the order to the Assessing Authority and such authority as may be prescribed. The decision of the appellate authority shall be final.