Commissioner Ofcustoms And Central Excise, Hyderabad. vs. M/S Sre Bansal , Medchal.

Held

The Court held that the appeal is dismissed as withdrawn. This decision was based on a letter received from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, addressed to the Registrar (Judicial), requesting the withdrawal of the appeal. The letter cited instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) regarding the enhancement of monetary limits for filing appeals before High Courts. The revised monetary limit for High Courts was set at Rs. 100 Lakhs. The appeal in question was identified as one where the duty/penalty amount involved was below this threshold. The Court granted liberty to re-file the appeal in the event of any mistake committed by the officer in withdrawing it. No costs were awarded. The operative direction was the dismissal of the appeal as withdrawn.

Facts

The Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Hyderabad, filed an appeal before the High Court against an order of the Customs, Excise Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. The appeal was preferred against an order in original passed by the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Hyderabad - I Commissionerate. The matter concerns Central Excise Appeal No. 93 of 2006. Subsequently, a letter was received by the Registrar (Judicial) from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad, dated 10.10.2020, requesting the withdrawal of this appeal. The reason for withdrawal was stated to be the enhancement of monetary limits for filing appeals by the department, as per instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The amount in dispute is not explicitly stated in the judgment, but the withdrawal letter indicates that the duty/penalty amount involved is below the threshold limit of Rs. 100 Lakhs.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal filed by the Revenue is liable to be dismissed as withdrawn based on the letter received from the Commissioner, Central Tax, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, requesting its withdrawal. Arguments for the Petitioner (Revenue): The Revenue, through a letter from the Commissioner, Medchal GST Commissionerate, sought to withdraw the appeal. This request was based on revised monetary limits for filing appeals set by the CBIC. The instruction dated 22.08.2019 (F.No 390/Misc./116/2017-JC) stipulated a monetary limit of Rs. 100 Lakhs for filing appeals before the High Courts. The appeal in question, along with others listed in Annexure E, involved duty/penalty amounts below this threshold and did not fall under any exclusion categories. Therefore, the Revenue argued that the appeal should be permitted to be withdrawn. Arguments for the Respondent (M/s. Sree Bansal Texprints Private Ltd.): The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the Respondent. However, the Respondent would have implicitly supported the withdrawal of the appeal by the Revenue.