9911796707
TMI Blog1987 (3) TMI 10X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ice was given to the Department. At the hearing of the appeal, a preliminary objection was raised on behalf of the Department that the appeal itself is time-barred and must be rejected in limine on that ground itself. The Tribunal heard both the parties on this question and upholding the objection taken by the Department dismissed the appeal as time-barred, without going into the merits of the appeal. In this appeal, the correctness of the view taken by the Tribunal is questioned. An appeal to the Tribunal is provided by sub-section (1) of section 269G which reads as follows : "Appeal against order for acquisition -(1) An appeal may be preferred to the Appellate Tribunal against the order for the acquisition of any immovable property ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... him, then necessarily the appellant has to apply for a certified copy and then alone can he prefer the appeal. In the latter eventuality, the time taken for supplying the certified copy must necessarily be excluded because the appellant cannot be reasonably expected to file an appeal without knowing the contents and the reasoning of the order. In the case before us, it is admitted that the appeal preferred is beyond thirty days from the date of service of the order and also beyond forty-five days from the date of the order. The appellant is, however, seeking to take refuge under Note 1 to Form No. 37F prescribed under rule 48F of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. Part XB containing rules 48D to 48H was inserted by an amendment with effect fro ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arbitrators, legally authorised to take evidence." Section 1 of the Evidence Act says that the Act applies to all judicial proceedings in or before any court. The grant of "certified copy" is provided for by section 76 of the Evidence Act, which says that every public Officer having the custody of a public document, which any person has aright to inspect, shall give that person on demand a copy of it on payment of the legal fees therefor together with the necessary certificate certifying that it is a true copy. Once we hold that an appeal preferred under section 269G(1) should necessarily be accompanied by a certified copy, it would be reasonable to hold that the time taken for obtaining such certified copy, i.e., the period between the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich expressly empowers the Tribunal to condone the delay in filing the appeal for sufficient reason. We may also notice in this connection that Chapter XX-A has been deleted altogether by the Finance Act of 1986. We wish to make it clear that if an appeal is preferred either enclosing the copy served on the party or without such a copy, it would still be a proper presentation. In such cases, the Tribunal may call upon the appellant to file the certified copy within a time prescribed by it. For the above reasons, we hold that the Appellate Tribunal was not right in holding that the appeal preferred by the appellant herein was barred by time. The tribunal is directed to admit the appeal and dispose of it on merits as expeditiously as po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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