Dr. Bharat Chandra Bhuyan Vs Commissioner (Appeals) (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court allowed the writ petition challenging the order of the Commissioner (Appeals), Bhubaneswar, which had refused to condone the delay in filing an appeal under Section 85 of the Finance Act, 1994. The Court held that the Appellate Authority had incorrectly computed the limitation period by treating the date of receipt of the Order-in-Original as the starting point, contrary to the statutory provisions governing limitation. The matter was remitted to the Appellate Authority for fresh consideration of the application for condonation of delay.
The petitioner challenged the Order-in-Appeal dated 23 December 2024 arising from an Order-in-Original dated 9 April 2024 passed under Section 73 of the Finance Act, 1994 for the financial year 2015-16. The Order-in-Original was served on the petitioner on 12 April 2024. The petitioner filed an appeal on 12 July 2024 and contended that the appeal fell within the condonable period prescribed under the proviso to Section 85(3A) of the Finance Act, 1994. The petitioner argued that the Appellate Authority had failed to properly exercise its statutory discretion by incorrectly calculating the limitation period and had also not afforded an opportunity to explain the delay.
