Limitation and appellate jurisdiction: a time-barred appeal remains valid in law, and refusal to condone delay is appealable.

An appeal filed beyond the prescribed time remains an appeal in law because limitation affects the remedy, not the underlying statutory right. The appellate authority's power to dispose of an appeal extends to preliminary issues, including refusal to condone delay and dismissal as time-barred. Such an order is therefore treated as an appellate order passed on disposal of the appeal and is appealable to the Tribunal.

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Issues: Whether an appeal filed beyond the period prescribed under section 30(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1922, and rejected by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner for want of sufficient cause, is nevertheless an appeal in law and an order passed under section 31 so as to be appealable to the Tribunal under section 33(1).

Analysis: The right of appeal is a substantive statutory right conferred by section 30(1), while section 30(2) prescribes the time within which that right must be exercised. Limitation affects the remedy and does not extinguish the underlying right of appeal. An appeal presented out of time remains an appeal in the eye of law, though it may be liable to dismissal in limine. The jurisdiction under section 31 is not confined to disposal on the merits of the assessment alone; it extends to preliminary objections such as limitation and non-compliance with procedural requirements. An order refusing to condone delay and dismissing the appeal as time-barred therefore amounts, in effect, to disposal of the appeal and to affirmation of the assessment.

Conclusion: Such an order is one passed under section 31 and is appealable under section 33(1).

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain the appeal against the Appellate Assistant Commissioner's orders dismissing the appeals as time-barred, and the assessee's challenge succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: An appeal filed after the prescribed period remains a valid appeal in law, and an order refusing condonation of delay and dismissing it as time-barred is an appellate order under the provision governing disposal of appeals, not merely a limitation order.

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