The Commissioner Of Central Excise And Customs vs. M/S.Hindustan Zinc Limited

Held

The Court held that all the appeals listed, which had a tax effect below the monetary limit of Rs. 15,00,000 as stipulated by the Central Board of Excise and Customs Instruction dated 17.12.2015, no longer survive for adjudication on merits. The Court reasoned that the CBEC's directive to not pursue such appeals was the basis for their dismissal. Therefore, the Court dismissed all the appeals on the ground that they fell below the prescribed monetary limit. Any interim orders granted in these cases were vacated, and pending miscellaneous petitions were also dismissed. No costs were awarded.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, informed the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court about several pending appeals. This communication, dated July 31, 2018, cited an Instruction dated December 17, 2015, from the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). The CBEC instruction mandated that appeals before the High Court with a tax or duty effect of less than Rs. 15,00,000 should not be filed or pursued. Consequently, the Commissioner stated that the listed appeals no longer required adjudication on merits.

Key Issues

1. Whether appeals pending before the High Court, which have a tax/duty effect below the monetary limit prescribed by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, should be dismissed on that ground? The Revenue (Commissioner of Central Tax) argued that in light of the CBEC Instruction dated 17.12.2015, appeals with a tax effect below Rs. 15,00,000 should not be pursued. The Revenue contended that these appeals no longer survive for consideration on merits and should be dismissed accordingly. The judgment does not record any specific arguments from the petitioner/appellant side, but implies their absence or non-pursuance of the appeals in light of the Revenue's submission and the CBEC instruction.