1988 (8) TMI 48 - HC - Wealth-tax

Application for Wealth-tax Act delay condonation dismissed; applicant lacked cause & facts. Costs to parties.

The court dismissed the application u/s 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for condonation of delay in filing the application. The court found that the ... Limitation, Wealth Tax Issues involved: Application u/s 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for condonation of delay in filing the application.Summary:The judgment pertains to an application u/s 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for condonation of delay in filing the application. The assessments of the assessee for the years 1957-58 to 1974-75 were initially completed, and appeals were made to the Commissioner of Wealth-tax (Appeals) who remanded the cases for fresh assessments. Subsequently, the Tribunal rejected the contention that the Commissioner had no jurisdiction to remand the cases. The assessee then sought a reference, which was rejected, leading to the current application.The applicant also filed an application u/s 5 of the Limitation Act for condoning the delay, which was barred by 90 days. The Full Bench had previously held that section 5 of the Limitation Act applied to such applications. The main issue was whether the applicant had shown sufficient cause for the delay. The applicant's clerk submitted an affidavit stating that the papers were misplaced in the counsel's office, leading to the delay. However, the court found that the applicant failed to provide clear and explicit facts regarding the steps taken from the due date until the papers were located. Consequently, the court held that the applicant did not demonstrate sufficient cause for the delay and rejected the application for condonation of delay.As the application u/s 27(3) of the Act was barred by limitation, it was dismissed on this ground. The court ruled that the applicant failed to make out a case for condonation of delay, and each party was directed to bear their own costs in this reference.