Appeal dismissed for delay in filing, but Assessee granted chance to rectify with supplementary affidavit. Non-simultaneous filing considered valid.

The High Court dismissed the appeal due to inadequately explained delay in filing but granted the Assessee an opportunity to submit a supplementary affidavit before the Tribunal to rectify the explanation within a specified deadline. The Court emphasized that the non-simultaneous filing of the appeal did not invalidate the Assessee's explanation, considering the readiness of the appeal for submission and the Assessee's history of filing appeals for similar issues in other years.

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Issues:
Challenging the Tribunal's dismissal of appeal due to unexplained delay in filing.

Analysis:
The Appellant, an Assessee, contested the Tribunal's decision to dismiss their appeal based on a 748-day delay in filing. The Assessee submitted an affidavit by the Company's Director to explain the delay, but the Tribunal found the explanation unsatisfactory and rejected the request for condonation of delay. The Tribunal noted discrepancies in the affidavit and questioned why the appeal for the relevant Assessment Year was not filed alongside other appeals.

The Appellant's Counsel argued that appeals for preceding and succeeding Assessment Years were filed, and the issue in the present appeal was covered by a previous High Court judgment. The Counsel contended that the Assessee had provided a valid explanation for the delay. On the contrary, the Revenue's Counsel opposed, stating that the Tribunal's reasons for rejecting the explanation were sufficient and no legal question arose.

Upon reviewing the affidavit, the High Court found the delay inadequately explained and not justifiable even with lenient standards. However, considering the Assessee's track record of filing appeals for similar issues in other years, the Court was not convinced that the Assessee lacked interest in filing the present appeal. The Court decided to allow the Assessee to submit an additional affidavit before the Tribunal, providing detailed reasons for the delay. The Court remanded the case back to the Tribunal, setting a deadline for the additional affidavit submission.

The High Court clarified that the non-simultaneous filing of the present appeal with other appeals did not invalidate the Assessee's explanation, especially regarding the readiness of the appeal for submission. Ultimately, the Court dismissed the appeal but granted the Assessee an opportunity to rectify the delay explanation through a supplementary affidavit to be filed before the Tribunal by a specified date.

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