Settlement scheme eligibility accepted where appeal was filed in time, despite later admission and non-numbering.

An appeal filed before the 31 March 2001 cut-off was treated as pending for settlement-scheme purposes because the scheme required that the assessment order be passed by that date and the appeal be pending on that date. The court found the appeal had been filed within time, and mere non-numbering or later admission did not defeat eligibility where there was no material showing return of the appeal for defects or delay attributable to the assessee. The assessee was therefore entitled to the scheme benefit, and rejection of the application was set aside.

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Issues: Whether an appeal filed before 31 March 2001 but admitted only after that date could be treated as pending for the purpose of availing the settlement scheme under the Ordinance.

Analysis: The scheme under section 4(iii) of the Andhra Pradesh Sales Tax (Settlement of Disputes) Ordinance, 2001 applied to cases where the relevant assessment order had been passed by 31 March 2001 and the appeal was pending before the appellate authority on that date. The record showed that the appeal had in fact been filed before the cut-off date, and there was nothing to show that it had been returned for rectification of defects or that the delay in admission was attributable to the assessee. Mere non-numbering or later admission of the appeal could not negate the fact of filing within time for the purpose of the scheme.

Conclusion: The appeal was held to have been filed in time, and the assessee was entitled to claim the benefit of the settlement scheme; the rejection of the application was set aside.

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