Commissioner Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. Bbf Industries LTD Igc Samba J And K

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K) Jammu filed an appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, against a final order dated March 6, 2018, passed by CESTAT Chandigarh. The appeal was delayed by 1278 days, and an application for condonation of delay was filed. The appellant's counsel submitted that a similar issue had arisen in CEA No. 10/2020, where the appeal was dismissed as barred by limitation. Furthermore, the Supreme Court had dismissed a Special Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No(s). 18051/2023, titled 'Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise (J&K) versus M/s Saraswati Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.', which dealt with a similar matter.

Held

The Court held that the appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K) Jammu was barred by limitation. The Court noted that the appeal was delayed by 1278 days. It was submitted by the appellant's counsel that a similar issue had arisen in CEA No. 10/2020, where the appeal was dismissed as barred by limitation by a Division Bench of the High Court. Furthermore, the Supreme Court had dismissed SLP (Civil) Diary No(s). 18051/2023 in the case of 'Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise (J&K) versus M/s Saraswati Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.', which dealt with a similar matter and upheld the High Court's reasoning. The Supreme Court's operative part emphasized that decisions attained finality based on existing judgments (like SRD Nutrients) should not be reopened based on subsequent overruling judgments (like Unicorn Industries) to avoid opening a 'Pandora's box' and to ensure finality of litigation, which is against public policy. Applying these principles, the Court found that the present appeal was also barred by limitation. The appeal was dismissed along with connected applications.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K) Jammu is barred by limitation, considering the delay of 1278 days. Contentions: Petitioner/Appellant (Commissioner Central GST and Central Excise J&K): Submitted that the appeal was delayed by 1278 days and sought condonation of delay. Relied on the principle that similar issues in CEA No. 10/2020 were dismissed as barred by limitation and that the Supreme Court dismissed SLP (Civil) Diary No(s). 18051/2023 in a similar case. Revenue/State: No specific arguments recorded for the Revenue/State in the provided text regarding the condonation of delay or the merits of the appeal.