Comnr,Central Excise vs. M/S.M.N.Electricals

Held

The Court held that the appeal stands disposed of in view of the CBIC Circular dated 11.07.2018. The circular clearly states that appeals with a monetary limit below Rs. 50,00,000/- shall not be filed before the High Court. Since the tax effect in the present appeal was brought to the notice of the Court as being less than Rs. 50 lac, the appeal was not maintainable as per the revised monetary limits. The Court granted liberty to the Department to revive the appeal in case of difficulty. The ratio decidendi is that the Department is bound by its own circulars regarding monetary limits for filing appeals, and appeals filed in contravention of these limits are liable to be dismissed or disposed of accordingly. The operative direction was the disposal of the appeal with liberty to revive.

Facts

The appeal was filed by the Department against an order dated 26.11.2007 passed by the CESTAT, Kolkata. The tax effect in dispute was brought to the notice of the Court and was less than Rs. 50 lac. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a Circular dated 11.07.2018, in exercise of its powers under Section 35R of the Central Excise Act, 1944, which was made applicable to Service Tax vide Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. This circular fixed monetary limits for filing appeals by the Department. For High Courts, the monetary limit below which an appeal shall not be filed was set at Rs. 50,00,000/-. This instruction applied to legacy issues relating to Central Excise and Service Tax, including pending cases.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present appeal, with a tax effect of less than Rs. 50 lac, is maintainable before the High Court in light of the CBIC Circular dated 11.07.2018, which sets a monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- for filing appeals before High Courts in legacy matters? Arguments for the Petitioner (Department): The Department relied on the CBIC Circular dated 11.07.2018, which stipulated that appeals with a tax effect below Rs. 50,00,000/- should not be filed before the High Court. The tax effect in this case was stated to be less than Rs. 50 lac. Arguments for the Revenue (Respondent): The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Revenue or the respondent party. However, the outcome suggests the Revenue would have implicitly supported the application of the circular.