The Commissioner Customs, Central Excise And Service Tax vs. M/S. Sujana Metal Products Limited

Held

The High Court dismissed the appeal as withdrawn. The Court noted the letter received from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, dated 10.10.2020, requesting the withdrawal of the appeal. This withdrawal was sought in accordance with the revised monetary limits for filing appeals set by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The Court granted liberty to the appellant to revive the appeal in the event there was any mistake committed by the officer in withdrawing it. No costs were awarded. The Court also ordered that any pending miscellaneous petitions in this appeal would stand closed.

Facts

The Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Hyderabad, filed an appeal before the High Court against an order of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. The appeal challenged the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) which in turn was preferred against the order of the Additional Commissioner. The case involved a dispute concerning Central Excise. Subsequently, the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, addressed a letter to the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court, requesting the withdrawal of the appeal. This request was based on instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to withdraw appeals where the duty/penalty amount involved is below a revised monetary threshold of Rs. 100 lakhs for High Court appeals.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal filed by the appellant (Revenue) should be dismissed as withdrawn based on the letter received from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, requesting withdrawal in light of revised monetary limits for filing appeals. Arguments: Petitioner (Revenue): The petitioner argued for the withdrawal of the appeal. This was based on a letter from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, citing CBIC instructions F.No 390/Misc./71612017-JC dated 22.08.2019 and other related instructions. These instructions set a monetary limit of Rs. 100 lakhs for filing appeals before the High Court in respect of Central Excise and Service Tax cases, as per Section 35R of the Central Excise Act, 1944, read with Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. The appeal was stated to involve an amount below this threshold and did not fall under any exclusion category. Revenue/State: No specific arguments were recorded for the Revenue/State other than the request for withdrawal as detailed by the petitioner.