SHORT CONDONATION WITH EXCUSE IS NOT ALLOWED WHILE LONG CONDONATION WITH EXPLANATION CAN BE ALLOWED
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Short note of today's case law for quick reference:
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[2024] 464 ITR 151 (Del)
[IN THE DELHI HIGH COURT]
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PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX
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VERSATILE POLYTECH PVT. LTD.
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1. In cases involving government bodies the Court must keep in mind that owing to the impersonal state machinery delays and defaults on the part of government must be accepted with latitude to a certain extent.
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2. However, Justice cannot be over stretched to render the law of limitation otiose, especially the court finds absolutely no justification for the delay in question.
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3. While looking for “sufficient cause” as an explanation of delay, the court bear in mind that expiration of period of limitation for filing an appeal gives rights to a substantiative right in favour of the successful litigant to treat the subject order or decree as final and binding between the parties.
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4. Condonation of delay being a discretionary power, the exercise of discretion must be guided by sufficient of cause and a degree of acceptability of the explanation irrespective of the length of delay, in the sense that for want of sufficient cause or an acceptable explanation, a delay of shortest period may not be condoned, while if the explanation is satisfactory and acceptable, long delay of years can the condoned.
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5. The court must keep in mind the distinction between an explanation and an excuse.
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6. An explanation is designed to give someone all of the facts and layouts the cause for something, and it helps to clarify the circumstances of a particular event, allowing the person to point out that something which has happened is not his fault.
Between explanation and excuse, there is distinction which though fine, is real.
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7. An excuse if often offered by a person to deny responsibility and consequence when under attack and it is a sort of defensive action.
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8. Hold that the lack of sincerity, or rather complete absence thereof on the part of revenue in this case was glaringly conspicuous by its colossal delay of about 3 years in filing these appeals, that too despite having faced a situation where it had to withdraw its earlier appeals and was granted liberty to file afresh.
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9.? None of the dates and stages recorded could be accepted by any stretch of imagination as disclosure of factors beyond the control of revenue and therefore sufficient cause which led to delay in filing the appeals.
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10. The revenue did not even disclose the dates of filing of earlier appeals in their affidavit.
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11. The condonation were denied by the Court.