Commissioner Of Cen GST Commissionerate vs. Mangalam Cement LTD

Held

The Court held that the appeal was not maintainable. The reasoning was based on the submission made by the appellant's counsel regarding the monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- set by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs for filing appeals in the High Court. As the tax effect in the present appeal was Rs. 45,35,622/-, which fell below this prescribed limit, the Court found it appropriate to dismiss the appeal on this ground. The ratio decidendi is that appeals filed in the High Court must adhere to the monetary limits stipulated by the relevant authorities. The operative direction was the dismissal of the appeal.

Facts

The appellant, Commissioner, Central GST Commissionerate, Udaipur, filed a Central/excise Appeal No. 65/2018 before the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur. The appeal was against Mangalam Cement Ltd. The appellant's counsel submitted that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had fixed a monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- below which appeals should not be filed in the High Court. The tax effect in the present appeal was stated to be Rs. 45,35,622/-, which is less than the prescribed monetary limit.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal filed by the appellant is maintainable before the High Court, given the monetary limit prescribed by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs? The appellant argued that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, exercising powers under Section 35R of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (made applicable to Service Tax vide Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1944), fixed a monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- for filing appeals in the High Court. Since the tax effect in the present appeal was Rs. 45,35,622/-, which is below this limit, the appeal was not maintainable. The respondent did not present any arguments.