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2012 (9) TMI 888 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxRevision petition - Condonation of delay - Burden of proof - Whether the application under clause 5A of the 1989 Scheme for review of order dated October 21, 2000 passed by the SLSC was indeed filed by the petitioner-company on December 13, 2000 - Held that:- There is no material before this court to come to the conclusion that the order dated October 24, 2011, is a perverse order or vitiated by a misdirection in law entailing a question of law to be determined in the present revision petition. The issue of condonation of delay in filing appeal beyond limitation and finding of sufficient cause is a question of fact, which needed to be established from the evidence led by the petitioner-company as the appellant before the Tax Board to draw on its discretion for condoning delay of about 11 years in filing an appeal against SLSC's order dated October 21, 2000. This was the burden of the petitioner-company, Binani Cement Petitioner-company did not produce any proof of filing of the application dated December 13, 2000, before the SLSC at any time or even on March 17, 2011 when the matter was considered. The reliance of the petitioner-company on reply filed by the State Reported as Binani Cement Limited. v. State of Rajasthan [2001 (7) TMI 1260 - RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT]. is also of no avail. It is trite that an admission has to be unequivocal to be relied upon. A perusal of the reply filed by the State shows that the State had completely and unambiguously denied the receipt of the application for review dated December 13, 2000 by the SLSC or the Industries Department. The order of this court Reported as Binani Cement Limited. v. State of Rajasthan [2001 (7) TMI 1260 - RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT] contained no direction to the Tax Board to condone the delay for the whole period of 11 years, but was confined to the petitioner-company's entitlement for condonation of delay from May 21, 2008 to September 5, 2011. For the remainder period from October 21, 2000 to May 21, 2008, the burden was on the petitioner-company to satisfy the Tax Board that it had sufficient cause for filing an inordinately delayed appeal against the SLSC's order dated October 21, 2000 on September 16, 2011, and for hearing the appeal on the merits. The findings of the Tax Board are findings of fact. The scope of revisional jurisdiction in interfering with findings of fact entailing a decision by the concerned court on an application for condonation of delay is extremely narrow as would be evident from the judgment of the honourable apex court in the case of Manindra Land and Building Corporation Ltd. [1963 (5) TMI 61 - SUPREME COURT] - Decided against assessee.
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