Limitation Act's Section 5 Applies to Wealth-tax Act Applications

The High Court of Madhya Pradesh held that section 5 of the Limitation Act applies to applications under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, as it was not expressly excluded by the Act. The court's analysis of legislative history and precedent led to the conclusion that Parliament's intention was to allow the application of section 5 of the Limitation Act in such cases. The court referred the matter to a larger Bench to resolve conflicting views within the court and directed the application to proceed before the appropriate Bench, with each party bearing their own costs for the reference.

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Issues:
- Applicability of section 5 of the Limitation Act to an application under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act.

Detailed Analysis:
The judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh involved an application under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, filed by the assessee along with an application under section 5 of the Limitation Act due to exceeding the prescribed time limit. A Division Bench noted conflicting views within the court regarding the applicability of section 5 of the Limitation Act and referred the matter to a larger Bench. The court considered the conflicting decisions in CIT v. Gupta & Sons Pvt. Ltd. and CIT v. Trilokinath, leading to the question of whether section 5 of the Limitation Act applies to an application under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act when not expressly excluded by the Act.

The court delved into the legislative history of section 27 of the Wealth-tax Act, particularly the amendment by Act No. 46 of 1964, which deleted sub-sections (8) and (9). The court highlighted that the reason for deleting sub-section (9) was redundancy, not an intention to exclude section 5 of the Limitation Act. The court analyzed the change in the legal position with the enactment of the Limitation Act, 1963, emphasizing that unless expressly excluded, section 5 of the Limitation Act would apply to a special or local law. The court concluded that Parliament's intention was to apply section 5 of the Limitation Act to applications under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, leading to the deletion of sub-section (9) as redundant.

Furthermore, the court referenced the decision of the Gauhati High Court in A. Gupta Trust Estate v. CWT, which supported the view that section 5 of the Limitation Act applies to applications under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act. The court found alignment with this decision and did not find it necessary to discuss other cases cited by the parties. Consequently, the court opined that section 5 of the Limitation Act indeed applies to applications under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act. The court directed the application in the instant case to be listed before the appropriate Bench for further proceedings, with each party bearing their own costs for the reference.

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