Letter no. DIT(L&R)-I/DELAY IN SLP/2012-13, dated 19-9-2012

What this is

Letter no. DIT(L&R)-I/DELAY IN SLP/2012-13, dated 19-9-2012 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 19 September 2012. Its subject is Adverse observations of Supreme Court for delay in filing SLP - curtailing delay in sending proposal to Directorate of Legal & Research.

What it does

Tightens the internal timeline for special leave petitions. A proposal for filing a special leave petition must reach the Directorate of Legal and Research complete in all respects within 21 days of the date of the High Court's judgment. Commissioners are to monitor this closely and, where a proposal goes in late, to explain the delay date-wise in tabular form naming the officers concerned; heavy workload or officers being on leave are not accepted as excuses. Delay in filing an appeal in the High Court or in submitting a special leave petition proposal may attract administrative action, and the timelines in Instruction Nos. 4 and 7 of 2011 are to be strictly followed.

Why it was issued

The Supreme Court had taken a serious view of delays in filing appeals in High Courts and special leave petitions, and in one case directed that responsibility be fixed and action taken; the Board records its extreme concern that proposals were still coming in after considerable delay.

Who it reaches

• Assessees who have won before a High Court and face a late departmental special leave petition
• Counsel opposing an application for condonation of delay in a departmental appeal
• Commissioners and field officers responsible for appeal proposals

The instrument, as the Board published it

Adverse observations of Supreme Court for delay in filing SLP - curtailing delay in sending proposal to Directorate of Legal & Research
LETTER NO. DIT(L&R)-I/DELAY IN SLP/2012-13, DATED 19-9-2012
Kindly refer to the above.
2. I am directed to bring to your kind notice that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has taken a serious view in cases of delay in filing appeals in the High Courts as also SLPs. In a particular case of delayed filing the responsibility has been directed to be fixed and action taken suitably. I am directed to impress upon officers in the field formation to strictly adhere to the timelines laid down in Instruction Nos. 4 and 7 of 2011.
3. I am further directed to convey the extreme concern of the Board that proposals for filing SLP are still being received after considerable delay. The proposal must reach the Directorate, complete in all respect within 21 days of the date of Judgment of the High Court. The CsIT are requested to monitor this aspect of the work closely. They must explain the delay, datewise in tabular form giving names of officers, where the proposal is being submitted after the aforesaid period. Excuses like heavy workload or officers on leave etc. are not acceptable.
4. Delay in filing appeal in the High Court and in the submission of SLP proposal may attract administrative action. This may be brought to the notice of field officers.
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What to watch

• The 21-day clock runs from the date of the High Court's judgment, not from the date the order is received or the file moves.
• This is an internal timeline; it does not itself bar a late petition, but the Department's own record of it is material when delay is sought to be condoned.
• The instruction expressly rejects workload and leave as explanations, which is worth knowing when such reasons appear in a condonation application.
• It must be read with Instruction Nos. 4 and 7 of 2011, which lay down the timelines it enforces.

Where you meet it

On an application by the Department to condone delay in filing an appeal in the High Court or a special leave petition against an order in your client's favour.

← Circular No. 07/2012  ·  Letter [F.NO. Addl. DIT/INTL. TAXATION/2012-13], dated 19-9-2012 →