Limitation for service tax appeals runs in calendar months; filing on the condonable deadline justified condonation and remand.

Limitation for filing a service tax appeal under Section 85(3A) of the Finance Act, 1994 is to be computed in calendar months, not days. On that basis, the two-month period expired on 16.05.2021 and the further one-month condonable period expired on 16.06.2021, the date the appeal was filed. The appeal was therefore within the condonable period, the delay explanation was accepted, and rejection of the appeal as time-barred was unsustainable. The delay was condoned and the matter remitted to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits.

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Issues: Whether the service tax appeal filed before the Commissioner (Appeals) was within limitation or within the condonable period, and whether rejection of the appeal as time-barred was justified.

Analysis: The limitation for filing the appeal under Section 85(3A) of the Finance Act, 1994 is prescribed in months, not days. The period of two months therefore runs by calendar months and, on the facts, expired on 16.05.2021. The further one-month condonable period expired on 16.06.2021, which was the very date on which the appeal was presented. The appeal was thus filed within the condonable period, and the explanation for delay was found acceptable.

Conclusion: The rejection of the appeal as time-barred was unsustainable, the delay was condoned, and the matter was remitted to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits.

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