Commissioner Of Central Excise vs. Sumilon Industries LTD

Held

The Court held that the appeal is to be disposed of as withdrawn, as prayed for by the appellant. This decision was based on the appellant's submission that the duty amount involved was below the revised monetary limit for preferring appeals before the High Court, as per CBIC Instructions F.No.390/Misc/116/2017-JC dated 22.08.2019. The Court granted permission for withdrawal. However, it also provided a conditional liberty to the appellant to seek revival of the appeal if there was any error in the computation of the tax effect or if the aforementioned instruction was not applicable for any reason. No specific finding was made on the merits of the GST dispute itself.

Facts

This is a Tax Appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central Excise against Sumilon Industries Ltd. The appeal concerns a dispute related to Goods and Services Tax (GST). The appellant, through a communication dated 21st October 2019 from the Joint Commissioner, GST & Central Excise Commissionerate, Surat, informed the court that the duty amount involved in the appeal is below the revised monetary limit for preferring appeals before the High Court, as per CBIC Instructions F.No.390/Misc/116/2017-JC dated 22.08.2019. Consequently, the appellant sought permission to withdraw the appeal.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal is maintainable before the High Court given that the duty amount involved is below the revised monetary limit prescribed by CBIC Instructions F.No.390/Misc/116/2017-JC dated 22.08.2019? Petitioner's Argument: The petitioner (appellant) argued that the appeal should be withdrawn as the duty amount in dispute falls below the revised monetary limit for High Court appeals, as stipulated by the CBIC instructions. They relied on the communication from the Joint Commissioner, GST & Central Excise Commissionerate, Surat, to support this contention. Revenue/State's Argument: No argument was recorded for the revenue or State in this specific instance, as the appellant themselves sought withdrawal based on the revised monetary limits.