Tribunal Condones 4700-Day Appeal Delay Due to Departmental Errors; Applicant to Pay Rs. 5,000 to PM CARES Fund.

The Tribunal condoned a delay of approximately 4700 days in filing an appeal against the impugned order dated 22.06.2005, attributed to departmental negligence and communication errors regarding the applicant's address. Despite the applicant's own negligence in not inquiring about the case status, sufficient cause was demonstrated. The Tribunal allowed the condonation application, imposing a cost of Rs. 5,000 payable to the "PM CARES Fund" within eight weeks. The appeal was scheduled for hearing upon submission of payment proof to the Registry. The order was pronounced on 11.09.2020.

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Issues:
Delay in filing the appeal before the Tribunal against the impugned order dated 22.06.2005 passed by the Commissioner of Customs(Imports), Mumbai.

Analysis:
The applicant filed an application for condonation of delay of around 4700 days in filing the appeal before the Tribunal against the impugned order dated 22.06.2005. The delay was attributed to the negligence of the department, as per the applicant's affidavit. The department sent a communication regarding recovery of dues after 12 years to the changed address of the applicant, despite being informed about the change of address earlier. The impugned order dated 22.6.2005 sent to the old address was returned with remarks 'Not known'. The applicant received the certified copy of the impugned order on 26.7.2018. The Tribunal can condone the delay on showing sufficient cause, as per the Supreme Court's ruling in Perumon Bhagvathy Devaswom v. Bhargavi Amma. Sufficient cause was shown by the applicant for not filing the appeal within the normal period of limitation. However, the applicant was also negligent for not inquiring about the case status before the adjudicating authority for many years. The delay was condoned with a cost of Rs. 5,000 to be deposited to the "PM CARES Fund" within 8 weeks.

The application for condonation of delay was allowed, and the appeal was directed to be listed for hearing after the applicant filed proof of payment of the cost with the Registry. The order was pronounced in the open court on 11.09.2020.

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