TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (7) TMI 619
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.... Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the applicant-State of Gujarat has submitted that the delay has been explained in support of the prayer to condone the delay. It is submitted that after the judgment and order passed by the Tribunal was received by the Department on October 5, 2012, note was put by the Commercial Tax Inspector on October 10, 2012, by GA-3 on 03/12/2012, by GA-2 on December 3, 2012, by GA-4 on December 3, 2012, by GA-1 on December 4, 2012. Thereafter, the proposal to file the tax appeal against the said judgment was sent to the Finance Department on January 1, 2013. The Finance Department, Gandhinagar, granted permission on February 12, 2013 and on receipt of the said permission, immediately all the relevant papers ....
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...., learned advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent. At the outset it is required to be noted that in the present case, the amount involved is a very big amount. Identical question came to be considered by the Division Bench of this court in the case of Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Ltd. [2013] 1 VST-OL 558 (Guj) and considering the large amount of the revenue involved and considering the decision of the honourable Supreme Court in the case of the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd. [2011] 334 ITR 269 (SC), the Division Bench has condoned the delay of 732 days which was sought on similar grounds. The Division Bench of this court while condoning the delay of 732 days observed as under (pages 561-564 in 1 VST-O....
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....ted in [2011] 334 ITR 269 (SC), in which it was observed thus (page 270 in 334 ITR): '5. Looking to the amount of tax involved in this case, we are of the view that the High Court ought to have decided the matter on the merits. In all such cases where there is delay on the part of the Department, we request the High Court to consider imposing costs but certainly it should examine the cases on the merits and should not dispose of cases merely on the ground of delay, particularly when huge stakes are involved.' In case of State of Nagaland v. Lipok AO reported in [2005] 3 SCC 752, it was observed as under: '13. Experience shows that on account of an impersonal machinery (no one in charge of the matter is directly hit or h....
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....required to be condoned in the interest of justice where no gross negligence or deliberate inaction or lack of bona fides is imputable to the party seeking condonation of delay. In litigations to which Government is a party, there is yet another aspect which, perhaps, cannot be ignored. If appeals brought by Government are lost for such defaults, no person is individually affected, but what, in the ultimate analysis, suffers is public interest. The decisions of Government are collective and institutional decisions and do not share the characteristics of decisions of private individuals. The law of limitation is, no doubt, the same for a private citizen as for governmental authorities. Government, like any other litigant must take responsibi....
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....gencies proverbially at slow pace and encumbered process of pushing the files from table to table and keeping it on table for considerable time causing delay-intentional or otherwise-is a routine. Considerable delay of procedural red-tape in the process of their making decision is a common feature. Therefore, certain amount of latitude is not impermissible. If the appeals brought by the State are lost for such default no person is individually affected but what in the ultimate analysis suffers, is public interest. The expression "sufficient cause" should, therefore, be considered with pragmatism in justice-oriented approach rather than the technical detection of sufficient cause for explaining every day's delay. The factors which are pe....