Commissioner Of Customs vs. M/S Kellogg INDIA Private Limited

Held

The Court accepted the submission made by the Appellant-Department's counsel. The Court noted the Appellant-Department's litigation policy, which mandates that appeals will not be initiated if the monetary stakes are less than Rs. 2 Crores. Based on this policy and the request for withdrawal, the Court ordered the Appeal to be dismissed as withdrawn. No costs were awarded. The operative direction was the dismissal of the appeal as withdrawn.

Facts

The Appellant-Department, represented by its learned counsel, filed a memo before the High Court. This memo included a copy of a circular outlining the Department's litigation policy. According to this policy, the Department resolved not to initiate any Appeals or Petitions where the monetary stakes involved were less than Rs. 2 Crores. The counsel therefore prayed for leave to withdraw the present Appeal, C.E.A. No.1 of 2021.

Key Issues

The Court had to decide whether to grant the Appellant-Department's request to withdraw the Appeal. The primary issue was the application of the Department's internal litigation policy to the present case. The Appellant-Department argued that its litigation policy, which stipulates a minimum monetary threshold of Rs. 2 Crores for initiating appeals, should be applied. Consequently, they sought to withdraw the current appeal as the monetary stake was presumably below this threshold. The judgment does not record any arguments from the Respondent.