2009 (7) TMI 328 - HC - Income Tax

This notice of motion is taken out by the Revenue seeking condonation of delay of 575 days in filing the appeal under section 260A - power to condone the delay in filing an appeal under section 260A - once the apex court has held that the High Court has no power to condone delay in filing appeal under section 35G of the Excise Act, we have no option but to hold that this court has no power to condone delay under section 260A of the Income-tax Act because section 260A of the Income-tax Act is in pari materia with section 35G of the Excise Act.

Summary

Issues:
Delay in filing an appeal under section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis:
The Revenue sought condonation of a 575-day delay in filing an appeal under section 260A of the Income-tax Act. The Revenue's counsel argued that the High Court has the power to condone such delays, citing a previous decision. In contrast, the respondent's counsel referred to Supreme Court decisions stating that the High Court lacks the power to condone delays in similar contexts under other Acts. The Revenue's counsel contended that the relevant provisions of the Excise Act are not directly comparable to section 260A of the Income-tax Act, thus the Supreme Court's decisions are not applicable.

The court carefully examined the arguments presented. It acknowledged that section 35G of the Excise Act is similar to section 260A of the Income-tax Act. Both sections incorporate provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, regarding appeals to the High Court. However, the court noted that section 35H of the Excise Act lacks a similar provision. Despite the argument that there are material differences between section 35G and section 35H of the Excise Act, the court concluded that since the Supreme Court had ruled that the High Court cannot condone delays under section 35G of the Excise Act, the same principle applies to section 260A of the Income-tax Act due to their similarity.

Therefore, the court held that it does not have the power to condone delays in filing appeals under section 260A of the Income-tax Act. Consequently, the notice of motion seeking condonation of the delay was dismissed, with no order as to costs.