A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court comprising the Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J Shastri condoned the delay of the revenue in filing appeal on grounds of filing of rectification of applications amounting to reasonable cause.
An application was filed by the Revenue seeking condonation of delay of 474 days in preferring the Appeal under section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the case of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Ahmedabad v. Lavjibhai Swarupchand Mehta.
The applicant has contended that an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) was received and a rectification application that came to be filed was dismissed as time barred. Aggrieved by the dismissal, the revenue has preferred the present appeal.
The Court has pointed out that, “For reasons best known, additional affidavit has been filed by Mr. Sandeep Jain, Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Central) Ahmedabad narrating the sequential events and also contending that the Department was pursuing the matter and as it was under bona fide reason, Appeal was not filed on time and seeks for condonation of delay.”
On notice, the respondent filed a reply affidavit as well as an additional affidavit, in opposition of the delay being condoned and in denial of each and every averment as made in the application by the revenue as well as in the additional affidavit.
Observing that the question before the Court as– “Whether the delay of 474 days in filing the Appeal deserves to be condoned or rejected ?”, it was emphasised that “it is not the length of delay but cause for delay which would be of paramount consideration.”
The sufficiency of cause was taken for examination in light of Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 wherein the court observed that, more than one sufficient cause or reason existed in favour of the department. In perusal of the facts, the Bench comprising the Chief Justice observed that the number of days delay calculated is 474 days and held that, the submissions from the additional affidavit sufficiently constitute a reasonable cause.
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