1971 (7) TMI 137 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether the memoranda of appeals presented to the post office on the last day of limitation were time-barred?
2. Whether the ground of being misled by a previous judgment was sufficient to condone the delay in filing appeals under the Limitation Act?

Analysis:

Issue 1:
The case involved four references made under section 11(1) of the Sales Tax Act regarding the timeliness of filing appeals against a penalty order. The penalty order was passed on 17th September, 1968, and the appeals were presented to the post office on the last day of limitation, i.e., 4th November, 1968, but received by the appellate authority two days after the prescribed period. The question revolved around whether the memoranda of appeals were considered presented within the prescribed period. The State Government's rule 67 provided for two modes of appeal presentation: personal presentation or sending via registered post to the Assistant Commissioner (Judicial). The court interpreted the word "sent" in the rule as "presented," indicating that handing over the memoranda of appeals to the post office for delivery sufficed as presentation to the appellate authority. The court emphasized that the assessee had fulfilled the requirements by submitting the appeals to the post office and should not be penalized if the delivery to the appellate authority was delayed. The court rejected the indirect method of invoking section 5 of the Limitation Act and ruled in favor of deeming the appeals as presented within time.

Issue 2:
Given the resolution of the first issue in favor of the assessee, the court did not find it necessary to address the second question regarding the sufficiency of being misled by a previous judgment to condone the delay in filing appeals. The court's decision on the first issue rendered the appeals not time-barred, thereby obviating the need to consider the second question. Consequently, the court did not provide a detailed analysis or ruling on the second issue, as the outcome of the case was determined by the resolution of the first issue in favor of the assessee.

In conclusion, the High Court of Allahabad ruled that the memoranda of appeals presented to the post office on the last day of limitation were deemed presented to the appellate authority within the prescribed period, and therefore, the appeals were not time-barred. The court directed the Commissioner, Sales Tax, to pay costs to the assessee assessed at Rs. 100. The references were answered accordingly, resolving the issues raised by the Judge (Revisions) under the Sales Tax Act.