Condonation of delay in customs appeal allowed where refusal would leave the appellant without any effective appellate remedy.

Delay in filing a customs appeal may be condoned where the delay is not exorbitant on the facts and refusal to condone would leave the appellant without an effective remedy against a confiscation order. The High Court emphasised the statutory right of appeal and the need to avoid denying appellate review in the peculiar circumstances of the case. Applying that approach, it condoned the delay and set aside the order treating the appeal as time-barred.

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Issues: Whether the delay in filing the customs appeal could be condoned despite the statutory limitation, so that the petitioner is not left without an effective remedy against the confiscation order.

Analysis: The appeal was filed beyond the ordinary period and beyond the appellate authority's condonable extension under the Customs Act. However, the Court noted that the delay was not inordinate on the facts of the case and that refusal to condone it would leave the petitioner remediless against the confiscation order. Emphasis was placed on the statutory right of appeal and on the need to avoid denial of appellate review in the peculiar circumstances of the case.

Conclusion: The delay was condoned in the facts of the case and the order dismissing the appeal as time-barred was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where refusal to condone delay would extinguish the only appellate remedy and the delay is not exorbitant on the facts, the delay may be condoned in the interests of justice notwithstanding the appellate authority's limited statutory power.

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