https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=468167 The expression "sufficient cause" under section 249(3) of the Income-tax Act is to be construed liberally where no mala fides, deliberate delay or dilatory tactic is shown. Length of delay is not decisive; the governing test is whether the explanation is acceptable on the facts. Here, the delay was attributed to the assessee having forwarded the orders to its tax consultant, with no apparent benefit from late filing and no indication of bad faith. Applying substantial justice, the delay was condoned, the appeals were restored to the first appellate authority, and costs were imposed. en-us Thu, 10 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:58:14 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=468167 The expression "sufficient cause" under section 249(3) of the Income-tax Act is to be construed liberally where no mala fides, deliberate delay or dilatory tactic is shown. Length of delay is not decisive; the governing test is whether the explanation is acceptable on the facts. Here, the delay was attributed to the assessee having forwarded the orders to its tax consultant, with no apparent benefit from late filing and no indication of bad faith. Applying substantial justice, the delay was condoned, the appeals were restored to the first appellate authority, and costs were imposed. Case-Laws Income Tax Thu, 10 Oct 2002 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=468167