Commissioner Of Central Excise vs. M/S Rashi Granite Exports (INDIA) PVT LTD

Held

The Court held that the appeal filed by the Revenue was not maintainable due to the revised monetary limits for filing appeals. The appellant's counsel submitted that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) had issued instructions on July 11, 2018, raising the monetary limit for filing appeals before High Courts to ₹50,00,000/-. The counsel further stated that the present appeal was not maintainable as the tax effect involved was less than this prescribed limit and did not fall under the exception for substantial questions of law. Consequently, the Court permitted the appeal to be dismissed as withdrawn/not pressed. No costs were awarded.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax (Appellant) filed an appeal before the High Court of Karnataka against an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The appeal was filed under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act. The respondent is M/s. Rashi Granite Exports (India) Pvt. Ltd. The appellant's counsel submitted that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) had issued instructions on July 11, 2018, raising the monetary limit for filing appeals before High Courts to ₹50,00,000/-. The counsel stated that the present appeal was not maintainable as the tax effect was less than this revised limit and did not fall under any exceptions.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present appeal filed by the Revenue is maintainable in light of the revised monetary limits for filing appeals as per the CBIC instruction dated July 11, 2018? (Question of law) The Revenue argued that the appeal was not maintainable because the tax effect involved was less than the revised monetary limit of ₹50,00,000/- for High Court appeals, and the case did not fall under the exception category for substantial questions of law. The Revenue sought permission to dismiss the appeal as withdrawn or not pressed.