LIMITATION ACT WITH HIGHLIGHTS AND GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

[DEV KUMAR KOTHARI]

The Limitation Act, 1963 with highlights and catchwords for easy understanding and to easily recapitulate the subject matter.

Limitation – general discussion for understanding limitation:

In the Limitation Act also in this write-up , limitation is discussed about limitation for doing any work, making of compliances, filing or instituting suits, appeals , petitions etc. Other physical or financial limitations are not a part of discussion.

Importance of limitations for doing anything, compliances and institution of suits and other proceedings,

Limitations for various matters is important not only in business word but also in personal matters concerning issues that require compliances and further course of action in case of need.

For understanding importance of limitations some issues of personal and commercial word are also discussed, though these may not be strictly governed by the Limitation Act or other enactment.

There can be several type of limitations like:

Contractual limitations which may have or may not have scope of relaxation, it may depend on mutual understanding of parties. For example, in case of a contract for supply or service, period of execution can be fixed within a range and also with ultimate last date. If one fails to comply with the agreed last date, there will be breach of contract.

In case of service contracts also there can be some limitations fixed (explicit or implied) in some enactments and also by contract between service provider and service receiver. For example, in case of statutory audit, the client can keep a target date to complete audit. If this date provide some scope for relaxation, and in some circumstances there can be relaxation of agreed time limit. However, auditor is supposed to act in a manner that clients account are audited timely so that client can make compliances with due procedures timely. In case for any reason there is difficulty in completing audit, client can be advised to take action for extension of statutorily fixed last dates.

In personal life any person has to meet obligations within fixed last date ( wrongly called due date) for example for payment of rent,  electricity, telephones, credit cards, EMI of loans, school and college fees, etc. In case of delay, some difficulty and additional burden has to be faced and matter is to be regularised.

Limitations in personal,  family and social matters:

In case of social matters also we can come across may limitation as to time for doing any work. For example, in case of invitation to attend any function a time frame is required to be maintained. If one fail to attend the function on fixed time, he miss it forever. When a function is for a mass gathering, the date (sometimes dates)  to attend  all or some of functions is fixed. It may not be relaxed. However, in case of personal invitations, dates can be relaxed mutually and well in time.

Not attending an invitation, preferably without prior  intimation  or without a congratulations and  sorry message is not  considered good..

Limitations under legal enactments:

In various enactments we find limitations fixed therein and different limitations are provided for different proceedings. For examples we can find different limitations for filing of Returns, appeals, revision petitions, rectification petitions, etc. in related enactments for direct and indirect tax. Similarly in the Companies Act, also certain limitations are fixed.

In some cases limitations may be final without any scope for relaxation. In some cases discretion is provided to concerned authority, tribunal or court to allow further time on satisfaction of conditions as may be applicable.

These limitations ( in fact last dates) are important. It is always better to do work well within time so as to be disciplined and organised. This will avoid occasion to request others to allo further time and or condone delay etc.

Limitation Act is a general enactment and provides limitation for general legal proceedings for institution / filing of suits, appeals, petitions etc.

We find  that in large number of situations, which may apply to general public  three years limitation is provided.

Minimum limitation period provided has been observed as ten days and maximum 30 years.

Limitations for filing of appeals , revision , rectifications are to be first checked in the specific law. If no limitation is provided therein then as per Limitation Act, limitation is to be applied.

Various provisions of the Limitation Act are reproduced below with highlights added by author.

Note, there may be some distortion of data in course of processing (reproducing, copying, highlighting, transmission and printing etc), so readers can refer to the Limitation Act on this website.