Facts of the Case

The Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise Jammu filed an appeal before the High Court under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, challenging an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh.

The High Court recorded that a batch of appeals had earlier been filed by the Commissioner, Central GST and Central Excise (Jammu and Kashmir), Jammu under Section 35G against orders passed on different dates by CESTAT. In those matters, CESTAT had set aside the orders of the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Adjudicating Authority and had directed refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the assessees in view of the decision in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati, 2017 (335) ELT 481 (SC).

The Court further noted that all those earlier appeals, together with applications seeking condonation of delay, had been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court by judgment dated 23 May 2022, with CEA No. 10/2022 being the lead case.

In the present appeal, the High Court examined the challenge and found that it concerned a similar order and was based on almost identical grounds to those already considered and dealt with by the Coordinate Bench in its judgment dated 23 May 2022.

Issues Involved

The principal issues arising from the order were:

  1. Whether the Revenue’s appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 against the CESTAT order warranted separate consideration when an earlier batch of appeals involving similar orders and almost identical grounds had already been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench.
  2. Whether the High Court should maintain parity with its earlier judgment dated 23 May 2022 concerning CESTAT directions for refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess.
  3. Whether the challenge to the similar CESTAT order could survive when the grounds raised had already been dealt with in the earlier batch of appeals.
  4. Whether any subsisting interim directions should continue after dismissal of the Revenue’s appeal.

Petitioner/Appellant’s Arguments

The appellant, the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise Jammu, challenged the CESTAT order under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

From the order, the Revenue’s challenge was directed against a similar order to those involved in the earlier batch of appeals. The Court expressly observed that the present challenge rested on almost identical grounds that had already been dealt with by the Coordinate Bench while passing the judgment dated 23 May 2022.

Important accuracy note: The short order does not separately reproduce or elaborate the detailed ground-wise submissions advanced by the appellant. Therefore, no additional arguments beyond those recorded or necessarily reflected in the order should be attributed to the Revenue.

Respondent’s Arguments

The respondent was M/s Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sidco Industrial Complex.

The order records “None” under the appearance for the respondent. Accordingly, the judgment does not record any oral submissions or detailed arguments on behalf of the respondent.

It would therefore be inaccurate to attribute any specific argument to the respondent beyond the procedural and substantive background appearing from the impugned CESTAT order as described by the High Court.

Court Order / Findings

The High Court made the following material findings:

  • It examined the contents of the instant appeal.
  • It found that the challenge was directed against a similar order to the orders forming the subject matter of the earlier batch of appeals.
  • It found that the present appeal was based on almost identical grounds.
  • Those grounds had already been dealt with by the Coordinate Bench in the judgment dated 23 May 2022.
  • To maintain parity, the High Court dismissed the present appeal.
  • The dismissal was ordered on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the Coordinate Bench judgment dated 23 May 2022.
  • Any interim directions subsisting as on the date of the order were vacated.

Operative Result

The Revenue’s appeal was dismissed. Any subsisting interim directions were vacated.

Important Clarification

This order is significant for its application of judicial parity and consistency. The High Court did not undertake a fresh detailed adjudication of every underlying controversy concerning refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess. Instead, it found that the present appeal challenged a similar order on almost identical grounds already addressed by the Coordinate Bench and, accordingly, dismissed the appeal to maintain parity.

A further important clarification is that the order refers to the earlier Coordinate Bench judgment dated 23 May 2022, with CEA No. 10/2022 as the lead case, but the uploaded two-page order does not reproduce the detailed reasoning, complete terms, conditions, or full party title of that lead judgment. Therefore, those details should not be inferred beyond what is expressly recorded in the present order.

Likewise, although the order records that the earlier CESTAT refund directions were made in view of M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. vs Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati, 2017 (335) ELT 481 (SC), the present High Court order itself ultimately dismisses the appeal by applying parity with the earlier Coordinate Bench judgment. This distinction is important for accurately understanding the basis of disposal.

Section Involved

Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 – The provision under which the Commissioner filed the appeal before the High Court against the CESTAT order.

Link to download the order-https://mytaxexpert.co.in/uploads/1783161291_890compressed.pdf

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