Angoora International Vs Union of India & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking multiple reliefs, including setting aside impugned orders, condonation of delay in filing an appeal or revision, and direction to consider the petitioner’s interest claim on merits.
The dispute arose from an order dated 05 August 2013 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise rejecting the petitioner’s claim for non-payment of interest on delayed rebate. Aggrieved by this decision, the petitioner filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals). However, the appeal was filed on 14 February 2014, beyond the statutory limitation period prescribed under Section 35 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.
Section 35 provides a limitation period of 60 days for filing an appeal from the date of communication of the order, with an additional condonable period of 30 days if sufficient cause is shown. In this case, the delay exceeded not only the initial 60-day period but also the additional 30-day condonable period. As a result, the appellate authority held that it had no power to condone such delay beyond the statutory limit.
The appellate authority observed that the relevant appealable order was the Deputy Commissioner’s letter dated 05 August 2013. The petitioner had instead pursued correspondence with departmental अधिकारियों and waited for a clarification issued on 15 January 2014 before filing the appeal. The authority held that such clarification did not constitute an appealable order and that the petitioner should have filed the appeal within the prescribed time from the original communication.
