2025 (8) TMI 894

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....present appeal has been filed by the appellant on 26.08.2019 whereas the date of communication of the impugned order, as mentioned at Sl. No. 4 of the ST-4 (Appeal Form), was 24.01.2019 i.e. the present appeal has been filed after a delay of more than four months of the period prescribed under Section 85(3A) of the Act including the period of condonation of delay. The reason cited for the delay in filing the appeal was that the business of the appellant was in very bad shape for the last few years and he was unable to deposit the pre-deposit amount. I find that the appeal is also time barred as the same has been filed beyond the time period permissible under Section 85(3A) of the Act, including the maximum period of delay for which the Comm....

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....d after the Finance Bill, 2012 receives the assent of the President, relating to service tax, interest or penalty under this Chapter : Provided that the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) may, if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of two months, allow it to be presented within a further period of one month." In terms of the above, it is observed that the appeal was to be filed before the Commissioner (Appeal) within two months of the date of the receipt of the Order-in-Original by the appellant. As per the proviso Commissioner (Appeal) has been granted the power to condone delay of one month in filing the appeal on sufficient cause being shown.....

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.... this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in the prescribed manner." 7. It is to be noted that the periods "sixty days" and "thirty days" have been substituted for "within three months" and "three months" by Act 14 of 2001, with effect from 11-5-2001. 8. The Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) as also the Tribunal being creatures of Statute are vested with jurisdiction to condone the delay beyond the permissible period provided under the Statute. The period upto which the prayer for condonation can be accepted is statutorily provided. It was submitted that the logic of Section 5 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1963 (in short the „Limitation Act‟) can be availed for condonation of de....

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....n. 10. Sufficient cause is an expression which is found in various statutes. It essentially means as adequate or enough. There cannot be any straitjacket formula for accepting or rejecting the explanation furnished for delay caused in taking steps. In the instant case, the explanation offered for the abnormal delay of nearly 20 months is that the appellant concern was practically closed after 1998 and it was only opened for some short period. From the application for condonation of delay, it appears that the appellant has categorically accepted that on receipt of order the same was immediately handed over to the consultant for filing an appeal. If that is so, the plea that because of lack of experience in business there was delay d....