Limitation computation under the General Clauses Act allowed next-working-day filing when the last day fell on Sunday.

The period of limitation for filing the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) was computed from the admitted date of communication of the order-in-original, excluding the first day under Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. Because the 90th day fell on a Sunday, Section 10 applied and filing on the next working day was treated as timely. On that calculation, the appeal filed on 22.09.2014 was within the prescribed period, so the dismissal as time-barred was unsustainable and the question of delay beyond the condonable period did not arise.

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Issues: Whether the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) was barred by limitation, and whether the last day for filing the appeal had to be extended to the next working day when the prescribed period expired on a Sunday.

Analysis: The admitted date of communication of the order-in-original was taken as the starting point for computing the period of limitation. In computing the prescribed period, the first day was excluded in terms of Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. The last day of the 90-day period fell on a Sunday, and Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applied so that filing on the next open day was treated as in time. On that computation, the appeal filed on 22.09.2014 was within the prescribed period, and the question of delay beyond the condonable period did not arise.

Conclusion: The appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) was held to be within limitation, and the dismissal as time-barred was unsustainable.

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