SAMUDRA ALLOYS PVT. LTD. Vs. CESTAT, AHMEDABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Assessee has filed this tax appeal challenging the judgment of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 27-10-2016. We had issued notice for final disposal in response to which learned advocate Shri Ankit Shah appeared for the department, at our request.

(2.) The appellant assessee had preferred an appeal before the Tribunal which was delayed by 56 days. He had prayed for condonation of delay inter alia on the grounds that the order under challenge was received at the assessee company's factory situated at Alang whereas the administrative office was situated at Bhavnagar. This resulted into delay which was required to be condoned. The Tribunal, however, was not convinced that the assessee had made out sufficient cause. It was observed that the address given in the appeal was that of Alang. The Tribunal did note the trend of the Apex Court that a liberal attitude while taking up the issue of condonation of delay should be adopted but observed that the same would not be the case where there is negligence on the part of the appellant. Resultantly, the Tribunal refused to condone the delay and dismissed the appeal accordingly.

(3.) It is unfortunate that the Tribunal has refused to condone the delay as minimal as 56 days in filing tax appeal before it. Having noted that the judicial trend is that on the question of delay, the courts lean in favour of granting substantial justice, the Tribunal still thought this was a fit case where the delay should not be condoned. The assessee had given a reasonable explanation that the order under challenge was served at its factory premises whereas the administrative office was situated elsewhere which consumed sometime in preferring the appeal. The delay in preferring the appeal was not unduly long. The explanation of the assessee was neither untenable nor baseless. It is not the case that the Tribunal lacked power to condone delay. With regret we record that the Tribunal should not have driven the assessee to prefer appeal before the High Court.