Condonation of delay in tax rectification proceedings allowed where no express bar exists and sufficient cause is shown.

Where a taxing statute contains no express bar on extension of time, Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 may apply to permit condonation of delay on sufficient cause. The High Court held that the delay in filing the rectification application under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 should not be rejected on a hyper-technical view, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's extension of limitation up to 28 February 2022 and the petitioner's case of lack of notice of the original order for a substantial period. The delay was condoned and the rectification application was directed to be decided on merits.

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Issues: Whether the delay in filing the rectification application under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 should be condoned and the application heard on merits.

Analysis: The writ petition challenged the Tribunal's refusal to entertain the rectification application as time-barred. The delay was considered in the light of the Supreme Court's extension of limitation period up to 28 February 2022 and the petitioner's assertion that it had no notice of the original order for a considerable period. The Court accepted that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 would apply to Section 31 of the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008, and declined to adopt a hyper-technical view of limitation in the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The delay was condoned and the Tribunal's order refusing to entertain the rectification application was set aside; the Tribunal was directed to decide the rectification application on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the taxing statute does not provide an express bar against extension of time, Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 can apply to permit condonation of delay on sufficient cause being shown, particularly where a liberal approach to limitation is warranted.

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