Sections 5 and 12(2) of the Limitation Act, 1963 are applicable to proceedings under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, unless it is found that any of these sections is expressly excluded by the Sales Tax Act.

Gokal Chand Mital, J.

1. The following questions have been referred to the Full Bench for its opinion :

(1) Whether the benefit of Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act can be allowed to an applicant in reference application filed under Section 22 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, for the days spent in obtaining the certified copy of the order of the Tribunal against which reference is sought ?

(2) If the benefit of Section 12(2) cannot be allowed, whether the delay in filing the reference application can be condoned under Section 5 of the Limitation Act by extending the period of limitation by the number of days spent in obtaining the certified copy of the order of the Tribunal against which reference is sought ?

2. The writ-petitioner, who is an assessee (hereinafter called the assessee), filed an application for reference under Section 22(1) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (hereinafter called the Sales Tax Act), of some questions of law for opinion of the High Court against the decision of the Sales Tax Tribunal dated 15th February, 1977. The limitation for filing of that application is sixty days from the passing of an order in appeal by the Tribunal as provided by Section 22(1) of the Sales Tax Act. The application for reference was filed on the twenty-seventh day after the expiry of sixty days and the delay in filing of the same was occasioned due to the fact that the assessee had filed an application for a certified copy of the judgment of the Tribunal against which reference was sought, which took the copying department thirty-five days in preparing the copy. Before the Sales Tax Tribunal, the counsel for the sales tax department took up the preliminary objection that the reference application was beyond the period of limitation and as such should be dismissed. That objection of the counsel for the department prevailed with the Tribunal and the reference application was dismissed as barred by time by order dated 20th September, 1977. Against this order of the Tribunal, the assessee has come up in writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

3. Initially, the writ petition was heard by a Division Bench where a conflict in some Division Bench decisions of this Court was noticed and the matter was referred to the Full Bench for resolving the conflict. That is how the matter has been placed before us.

4. For the decision of the two questions referred it will have to be decided whether the provisions of Sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1963 (hereinafter called the Limitation Act), would be applicable for appeals, revisions and reference applications under the Sales Tax Act. For this matter, reference may be made to Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act which is in the following terms:

29. (2) Where any special or local law prescribes for any suit, appeal or application a period of limitation different from the period prescribed by the Schedule, the provisions of Section 3 shall apply as if such period were the period prescribed by the Schedule and for the purpose of determining any period of limitation prescribed for any suit, appeal or application by any special or local law, the provisions contained in Sections 4 to 24 (inclusive) shall apply only in so far as, and to the extent to which, they are not expressly excluded by such special or local law.

A reading of the aforesaid provision clearly shows that Sections 4 to 24 of the Limitation Act would be applicable to all special or local law in so far as, and to the extent to which, they are not expressly excluded by such special or local law. Before this matter is further elaborated, it would be worthwhile to notice that in the Indian Limitation Act, 1908, there was a different phraseology of Section 29(2) of the Act where provisions under the aforesaid sections were not applicable to special or local law unless it was so provided by such special or local law. Therefore, under the Limitation Act which is now in force, the a