The Commissioner Of Central Excise vs. M/S Aspinwall And Co LTD

Held

The Court held that the appeal filed by the Revenue is dismissed as withdrawn/not pressed. This decision was based on the submission by the Revenue's counsel that the appeal was no longer maintainable due to the tax effect being below the revised monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- for High Courts, as per the notification dated July 11, 2018. The Court noted that the case did not fall under any exceptions to this rule. Consequently, the appeal was disposed of without a decision on its merits. No costs were awarded.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, Mangaluru, filed an appeal before the High Court of Karnataka against an order passed by the CESTAT, South Zonal Bench, Bengaluru. The appeal was filed under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act. The Revenue's counsel submitted that a notification dated July 11, 2018, issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, revised the monetary limits for filing appeals. For High Courts, the new limit is Rs. 50,00,000/-. The counsel stated that the tax effect in the present case is less than this prescribed limit and does not fall under any exceptions. Therefore, the Revenue sought permission to dismiss the appeal as withdrawn or not pressed.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present appeal is maintainable before the High Court in light of the revised monetary limits for filing appeals by the Department, as stipulated in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs notification dated July 11, 2018? The Revenue argued that the appeal is not maintainable because the tax effect involved is less than the revised monetary limit of Rs. 50,00,000/- for High Courts, and the case does not fall under the exceptions mentioned in the notification. The Revenue contended that the appeal should be permitted to be dismissed as withdrawn or not pressed. The judgment does not record any arguments from the Respondent (M/s. Aspinwall and Co. Ltd.).