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TMI Blog2013 (11) TMI 1622X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng condonaton of delay in filing the appeal before the CESTAT. 2. Brief facts of the case are that the assessee-respondents are engaged in manufacture of Distributing Transformers falling under sub-heading No. 8504 10 10 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. They are also engaged in the repairing activities of old Transformers and are paying Central Excise Duty on HV/LV Coils manufactured and captively consumed in repaired Transformers. They filed a refund claim on Central Excise Duty for certain months of the year 2005 and 2006 under Notification No. 56/2002-C.E., dated 14-11-2002. The claim for refunding was accepted partially. 3. Feeling aggrieved, the assessee challenged the order-in-appeal against the orde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... from the record or personal knowledge of the deponent. Thus the deponent was required to disclose the source of information. Accordingly, it was held that the affidavit filed in support of the application seeking condonation of delay did not satisfy the requirement of a proper affidavit. The view of the Tribunal is discernable from para Nos. 13, 14, 15 and 16, which are extracted below : 13. Condonation of delay is not a matter of right, it is a matter of discretion to be exercised by the authority before whom the parties are required to approach within the prescribed time and falling which are required to justify the delay with sufficient cause. Obviously, therefore, the discretion has to be exercised judiciously. For that purpose, th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o note that the claim involved in the matter is sum of ₹ 2,06,724/-. It is not to say that merely because an amount involved is not a huge amount for the department that we consider the matter differently. The records disclose total absence of due diligence on the part of the department persons to take appropriate steps in time. The law of limitation is same for the private parties as well as for the Government. We are aware that in Government offices, many a times, on account of carefree attitude on the part of the Government officers, which is commonly known as whose what s go? , the matters get delayed. Apart from carefree attitude, there could be various other reasons for the same also. However, when it comes to condonation of de ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cation is that the affidavit in support of the application was defective in terms of Order XIX of the CPC. The deponent failed to support the averments by verifying the facts on the basis of knowledge derived from the record or otherwise. The Tribunal also took the view that sufficient cause for delay was required to be shown. The Tribunal disapproved the approach of the Revenue in not admitting that there was delay. 7. In our view, once the Tribunal has allowed filing of application seeking condonation of delay, then the proper course could have been to permit filing of proper affidavit as well. It is true that the Revenue has adopted a casual approach in approaching the Tribunal but at the same time when the issue could be decided on m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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