2011 (2) TMI 1166 - HC - FEMA

Condonation of delay - appeal beyond the period of 120 days - Held that - Since the appeals have been filed beyond thirty days from 26-7-2010,day on which the order was made, this Court has no power to condone the delay - Decided against the assessee

Summary

Issues:
1. Condonation of delay in filing appeals against the order passed by the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange.
2. Interpretation of Section 35 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) regarding the timeline for filing appeals.
3. Whether the High Court has the power to condone delay in filing appeals beyond the specified period under FEMA.

Analysis:
The judgment by the Bombay High Court dealt with three Civil Applications seeking condonation of delay in filing appeals against the order of the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange. The penalty was imposed on the appellants for violating FEMA. The Appellate Tribunal directed the appellants to make a pre-deposit of 50% of the penalty within 30 days. The appellants challenged this order by filing Writ Petitions in the Delhi High Court, which were ultimately dismissed. However, the Delhi High Court granted them liberty to file an appeal within 30 days as per a specific judgment of the Supreme Court.

The main issue revolved around the interpretation of Section 35 of FEMA, which provides for the remedy of appeal against the Appellate Tribunal's decision. The question was whether the High Court could condone the delay in filing the appeal beyond the specified period. The Court referred to similar provisions in other Acts and the Supreme Court's decisions, which held that the High Court does not have the power to condone delays beyond the prescribed period. It was noted that while the Delhi High Court granted liberty to file an appeal within 30 days, the appeals were filed beyond this period, leading to the dismissal of the Civil Applications seeking condonation of delay.

In conclusion, the Court held that since the appeals were filed beyond the specified period, they could not condone the delay. Despite arguments regarding the interpretation of the timeline for filing appeals, the Court emphasized that the appeals should have been filed within 30 days from the date of the Delhi High Court's order. Therefore, the Civil Applications seeking condonation of delay were dismissed, and the appeal papers were consigned to record.