TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (6) TMI 163
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....ing for Restoration of appeal arising out of final order no. 53528/2017 dated 09.05.2017 under Rule 41 of CESTAT Rules 1982, after setting aside the ex-parte order passed therein. 2. The facts in brief relevant for the purpose are that the appeal in which the aforesaid final order was passed was filed against order-in-appeal no. 69/2012 dated 30.03.2012. The issue relates to the short payment of service tax for the period 2003-04 to 2006-07. The applicant company merged with M/s. KEC International Ltd. on 01.10.2007. The offices of the company i.e. the address as mentioned in the appeal got closed between 2012-13 / early 2013-14 due to which the notice of hearing was not received by the appellant. The final order passed by this court cam....
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....ed that the application itself has been filed after a long period. The appeal was decided vide final order dated 09.05.2017. However, the impugned application has been filed on 27.8.2021, irrespective there is no time period given under the applicable statute for filing application praying for restoration of appeal but since the appeal itself has to be filed within a period of not later than three months in terms of section 35C of Central Excise Act, that the application for restoration should also follow the said time limit. It is submitted that this ground is sufficient to reject the impugned application. Otherwise also, there is no sufficient cause mentioned in the application for not appearing before Departmental Authority on four of th....
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....s taken the plea of change of address in the year 2012-13 itself. The perusal of the appeal shows that the address given in the appeal is the one which is mentioned to have been closed but on the entire record there is no information provided by the appellant about the closure of its registered premises. The notices have rightly been issued by the department / registry at the available addresses. Since appellant was aware of all the proceedings, it was his duty to follow up his appeal. The appeal remained pending before this Tribunal since the year 2012 to the year 2017. The entire application is miserably silent about any effort of the appellant to enquire about the status of his appeal. The said conduct of the appellant is an outcome of a....
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....lows: i. There should be a liberal, pragmatic, justice-oriented, non pedantic approach while dealing with an Application for condonation of delay, for the Courts are not supposed to legalise injustice but are obliged to remove injustice. ii. The terms "sufficient cause" should be understood in their proper spirit, philosophy and purpose regard being had to the fact that these terms are basically elastic and are to be applied in proper perspective to the obtaining fact-situation. iii. Substantial justice being paramount and pivotal the technical considerations should not be given undue and uncalled for emphasis. iv. No presumption can be attached to deliberate causation of delay but, gross negligence on th....
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....mind that no one gets away with fraud, misrepresentation or interpolation by taking recourse to the technicalities of Law of Limitation. xii. The entire gamut of facts are to be carefully scrutinized and the approach should be based on the paradigm of judicial discretion which is founded on objective reasoning and not on individual perception. xiii. The State or a public body or an entity representing a collective cause should be given some acceptable latitude. 9. Hon'ble High Court of Madras in the case of S. Xavier (Supra) while relying upon the aforesaid decision, in addition, has added following more guidelines: "Though no precise formula can be laid down regard being had to the concept of judicial discreti....