Certified copy requirement under income-tax appeal rules allowed exclusion of copy-obtaining time from limitation.

An appeal under section 269G(1) of the Income-tax Act was required to be accompanied by at least one certified copy of the order under rule 48F and Form No. 37F, and the expression "certified copy" was read with reference to the Evidence Act because Chapter XX-A and the Rules contained no definition. The time spent in obtaining that certified copy was excluded for limitation purposes, since the appeal could not reasonably be filed without the required copy. Section 268 was held inapplicable to this distinct procedural scheme. The appeal was therefore not time-barred, and exclusion of the copy-obtaining period was allowed.

---

---

Issues: Whether an appeal under section 269G(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 had to be accompanied by a certified copy of the order, and whether the time taken to obtain such certified copy was to be excluded while computing limitation.

Analysis: The appeal provision was read with rule 48F of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 and Form No. 37F, which required the appeal to be accompanied by at least one certified copy of the order appealed against. In the absence of a statutory definition in Chapter XX-A or the Rules, the expression "certified copy" was understood with reference to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. On that basis, the period spent in obtaining the certified copy was held to be excludable, because an appeal could not reasonably be expected to be presented without the requisite certified copy. The contention based on section 268 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was rejected as inapplicable to an appeal under section 269G(1), which was treated as governed by a distinct and self-contained procedural scheme.

Conclusion: The appeal was not time-barred, and the assessee was entitled to exclusion of the time taken for obtaining the certified copy.

---