Statutory limitation bars condonation beyond the fixed maximum, excluding Section 5 of the Limitation Act in tax appeals.

Under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, an appeal must be filed within 30 days of service of the order, and the appellate authority may condone delay only for a further 30 days on sufficient cause. Where the statute fixes that maximum condonable period, the authority has no jurisdiction to extend time beyond it, and Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 does not enlarge the statutory limit. The principles in Singh Enterprises and Hongo India were applied to confirm that delay beyond the prescribed ceiling cannot be condoned, so a belated appeal filed outside that period is not entertainable.

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Issues: (i) Whether the appellate authority under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 could entertain an appeal filed beyond the prescribed period of limitation and the further condonable period of 30 days.

Analysis: The first proviso to Section 51(1) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 permits an appeal within 30 days from service of the order and authorises condonation only for a further period of 30 days on sufficient cause being shown. The Court relied on the principle that when the statute itself fixes a maximum condonable period, the appellate authority has no jurisdiction to extend time beyond that cap. The decisions in Singh Enterprises and Hongo India were applied to hold that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 does not enlarge such a statutory limit. The Court therefore rejected the contention that the delay could be condoned beyond the statutory ceiling.

Conclusion: The appeal could not be entertained beyond the statutory condonation limit, and the challenge to the rejection of the belated appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a fiscal statute prescribes a limitation period and a fixed further period for condonation, the appellate authority lacks power to condone delay beyond that statutory maximum, and Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 stands excluded.

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