STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. P S L LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE Civil Applications seeking condonation of delay in respective Tax Appeals have been filed by the State. In the Tax Appeals, a common judgment of the Value Added Tax Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal'), is challenged.

(2.) THE learned Assistant Government Pleader Shri Jaimin Gandhi for the applicantState pointed out that the tax effect in these two appeals is more than Rs.21 crore. Since there was a delay of 342 days in filing the respective Tax Appeals, these Civil Applications came to be filed. Such delay is sought to be condoned on the basis of averments made in the delay condonation application as well as in further affidavit dated February 20, 2014 filed by the applicantState.

(3.) SUCH prayer for condonation of delay is strongly opposed by the opponent. The objections of the opponent are two fold. Firstly, it is contended that the Court has no power to condone the delay at all. Elaborating this contention, the counsel Shri P.C. Joshi for the opponent drew our attention to sections 77 and 78 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), to contend that section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, would have no application. Referring to section 84 of the Act, he contended that the power to extend limitation rests only with the Appellate Authority or the Tribunal and not with the High Court. He placed heavy reliance on the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Commissioner of Sales Tax v. N.H. Polymers, 2008 13 VST 73, in which referring to the provisions of Bombay Sales Tax Act, the Court took the view that section 5 of the Limitation Act would have no application to the proceedings arising under the Bombay Sales Tax Act.