Re: whether late filed appeal before 31.01.2020

My client was required to file appeal in Feburary,2016 but appeal was filed in Feb.,2018 whetehr the same will be considered in the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme if the client is willing to settle the dispute

Unless belated appeal file is not condoned, the same is not a valid appeal.  However, you may want to take benefit of decision of the Surpeme court in the case of CIT v. Shatrusailya Digvijaysingh Jadeja (2005)(277 ITR 435(SC) rendered in the context of similar provisions of KVSS, 1998 which states as under:

 

“…when a section contemplates pendency of an appeal, what is required for its application is that an appeal should be pending and in such a case there is no need to introduce the qualification that it should be valid or competent. Whether an appeal is valid or competent is a question entirely for the appellate Court before whom the appeal is filed to decide and this determination is possible only after the appeal is heard but there is nothing to prevent a party from filing an appeal which may ultimately be found to be incompetent, e.g., when it is held to be barred by limitation. From the mere fact that such an appeal is held to be unmaintainable on any ground whatsoever, it does not follow that there was no appeal pending before the Court”

 

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