TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (4) TMI 331
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....92-93 to 1997-98 by formulating the following questions of law: "1. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in treating the appeal filed by the assessee-company to the Commissioner (Appeals) as maintainable and valid in law, when the official liquidator was appointed and had taken charge prior to the filing of appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals)? 2. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the Commissioner (Appeals) was fight in condoning the delay of 1,826 days in filing the appeal before him 3. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the finance charges and related interest is not assessa....
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....the delay and further held that the Tribunal did not find any reason to interfere or tinker with the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) and upheld the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). (iv) The correctness of the same is now canvassed in these appeals by formulating the questions of law extracted above. 5. As already stated, we are not able to concur with the argument of learned senior counsel appearing for the Department. In respect of the first question of law, on the reading of the Tribunal's order, it is evident that it has not been raised before the Tribunal as a point in issue for consideration. The one and only point for consideration taken up before the Tribunal was whether the order of the Comm....
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....got wound up. After revival of the scheme sanctioned by the High Court, the company could not detect that there were income-tax dues and through their authorised representative applied for copies of the assessment order and notice of demand. The delay was further explained by the assessee that due to the sudden introduction of stringent measures as regards the non-banking financial institutions, they were required to restrict the borrowings of the company to three times of its net owned funds. In view of that, the company was required to peg down its borrowing to three times. But the actual borrowings were more than six times. That made not only this company but also the other companies which were doing the same non-banking financial activi....
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....of limitation fixes a lifespan for such legal remedy for the redress of the legal injury so suffered. The law of limitation is thus founded on public policy. It is enshrined in the maxim interest reipublicae ut sit finis litiuni (it is for the general welfare that a period be put to litigation). The idea is that every legal remedy must be kept alive for a legislatively fixed period of time. The condonation of delay is the discretion of the court. Section 5 of the Limi tation Act does not say that such discretion can be exercised only if the delay is within certain limit. Length of delay is not the matter, acceptability of the explanation is the only criterion. Sometimes delay of the shortest range may be uncondonable due to a want of accept....
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....rammelled by the conclusion of the lower court. 10. In this case, the delay has been explained by the assessee cogently and giving valid reasons, which have been extracted by the Tribunal in paragraph 3 of its order in extenso. The conspectus of the reasons are extracted in this order earlier. The extract shows that the assessee has taken all and every steps despite the difficult time faced by it to revive the company and as such obtained an order from the company court for its revival. The nonserving of the order impugned on the duly authorised person has also been properly explained. If this explanation has not been accepted as a sufficient cause, no other explanation could be accepted as sufficient cause. Hence, we are of the view tha....
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.... Income-tax (Appeals) as correct. 13. In addition to that, this court has, in the case of CIT v. Harita Finance Ltd. [2006] 283 ITR 370 held that the question as to whether the agreement entered into between the parties was a hire purchase agreement or not was examined by the Tribunal in great detail and the finding was that it was a hire purchase agreement. The further finding was that it was not the case of the Revenue that the hirer was the real purchaser of the asset and the assessee was only a financier to help the purchaser and such things were not seen from the agreement. This was a finding of fact. Therefore, the hire purchase finance charges and service charges did not constitute chargeable interest-tax under section 2(7) of the....