Appeal treated as admitted on notice for merits hearing, making a later time-bar rejection appealable

An appellate authority's rejection of an appeal as time-barred, after issuing notice for hearing and disposal on merits, is treated by reference to the stage at which the order is made. Once notice is issued under the hearing provision, the appeal is regarded as admitted in law even without a formal admission order. Condonation remains an intermediate step under the delayed-appeal provision, but if the authority hears the matter on merits and then dismisses it as time-barred, the resulting order is one made under the hearing-and-disposal provision. The practical effect is that such an order is appealable.

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Issues: Whether an order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner rejecting an appeal as time-barred, after issuing notice under the appellate hearing provision and hearing the appeal on merits, is an order under the provision dealing with delayed appeals or an order under the provision governing hearing and disposal of appeals.

Analysis: The order on condonation was treated as an intermediate stage under the provision dealing with delayed appeals. Once notice was issued fixing the appeal for hearing and final disposal under the appellate hearing provision, the appeal was to be treated as admitted in law, even if no formal order of admission was recorded. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner could reconsider condonation at the hearing stage and dismiss the appeal as time-barred, but the character of such an order would depend on the stage at which it was made. Since the notice was issued under the appellate hearing provision and the appeal was heard on merits, the final order was not one made under the delayed-appeal provision.

Conclusion: The order was held to be an order under the appellate hearing provision and therefore appealable.

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