# In the matter of LEO Duct Engineers & Consultants Limited

> NCLT judgment dated 2023-10-11. Citation: TCN-2023-NCLT-01308. The Deputy Commissioner of CGST, Division III, Mumbai West, filed applications I.A. 2592/2021…

- **Court:** NCLT
- **Order date:** 11 Oct 2023
- **Citation:** TCN-2023-NCLT-01308
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/nclt-division-bench-court-i-chenn/leo-duct-engineers-consultants-limited-06b9c2c7

## Summary

### Background

The Deputy Commissioner of CGST, Division III, Mumbai West, filed applications I.A. 2592/2021 and I.A. 2594/2021 seeking condonation of delay of 364 days in filing an appeal against the rejection of their claim by the liquidator of Leo Duct Engineering and Consultants Ltd, the Corporate Debtor. The claim was rejected due to dues under the GST Law. The applicant also sought admission of the appeal on its merits. I.A. 2594/2021 is an appeal seeking admission of claim, which was rejected by the Liquidator on account of delay of 56 days in filing the claim.

## Facts

The Deputy Commissioner of CGST, Division III, Mumbai West (the Applicant), sought condonation of delay in filing an appeal against the rejection of their claim by the liquidator of Leo Duct Engineering and Consultants Ltd (the Corporate Debtor). The Applicant's claim pertained to service tax dues of Rs. 19,26,961/- from April 2014 to June 2017, which the Corporate Debtor had defaulted on. The Liquidator rejected the claim due to a delay of 56 days in filing and the use of an incorrect form. The Applicant argued that the delay was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown. The Liquidator had informed the Applicant that the last date for filing claims was 12-09-2019, following the publication of a public notice for liquidation on 15-08-2019. The

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the delay in filing the appeal against the rejection of the claim by the liquidator should …

**Ratio:** Section 5 of the Limitation Act allows for the condonation of delay if sufficient cause

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**Reasoning:** The court considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Supreme Court's

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**Interpretation:** The court interpreted Section 5 of the Limitation Act liberally, recognizing

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**Application:** The court applied the ratio to the facts of the case, finding that the delay in

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## Parties

- **Judges:** Prabhat…; V.G. B…
- **Appellants:** Union of…
- **Respondents:** Leo Duct Engineeri…; Pramod Dattaram…
- **Advocates:** M. S. Bha…; Dhwani B…

## Timeline

- **2014-04-01 — Default in Service Tax…**: Corporate Debtor defaulted in service tax…
- **2017-06-01 — Default in Service Tax…**: Corporate Debtor defaulted in service tax…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 5 — Definitions](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-5)

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