UNITRON LIMITED Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common question of law arises in General Sales Tax References Nos. 7, 8 and 9 of 1975; therefore, they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) The Sales Tax Tribunal, Haryana (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal), has referred the following question of law in all the three above-mentioned references to this Court for its ppinion : Whether, on the facts and circumstances of these cases, the provisions of Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, are applicable to the proceedings before the Sales Tax Tribunal under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (now read with the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973) ?

(3.) The facts are not in dispute. The assessment proceedings in all these cases were commenced and completed by the assessing authority under the provisions of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).Section 20(4) of the Act provides that no appeal shall be entertained unless it is filed within sixty days from the date of communication of the order appealed against, or such longer period as the appellate authority may allow, for reasons to be recorded in writing. The provisions of Sub-section (4) of sSection 20 of the Act were amended by the Punjab General Sales Tax (Haryana Amendment and Validation) Act, 1967, wherein the power of the appellate authority to entertain appeal after the expiry of 60 days for reasons to be recorded in writing was taken away and it was provided that no appeal shall be entertained unless it is filed within 60 days from the date of the order appealed against.