Commissioner Of Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. M/S Jindal Drugs LTD Epip Kartholi Sidco Industrial Complex Bari Brahmana Jammu J And K
Facts
The Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Jammu, filed an appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1994, against an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The CESTAT had set aside orders of the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Adjudicating Authority, directing a refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the assessee, M/s Jindal Drugs Ltd. This direction was based on the Supreme Court's decision in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. V. Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati. A batch of similar appeals filed by the Commissioner, including the lead case CEA No. 10/2022, were previously dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court on May 23, 2022. The present appeal raised similar grounds to those already decided.
Held
The Court dismissed the appeal, maintaining parity with a previous judgment dated May 23, 2022, passed by a Coordinate Bench. This prior judgment had dismissed a batch of similar appeals filed by the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Jammu, against CESTAT orders directing refunds of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess. The reasoning for dismissal in the present case was that the grounds raised were identical to those already dealt with by the Coordinate Bench. The Court found no reason to deviate from the established precedent set by its own Coordinate Bench. Any interim directions that were in effect were vacated. The Court did not expressly leave any issue undecided, as the appeal was disposed of on the basis of prior adjudication.
Key Issues
1. Whether the CESTAT correctly directed the refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the assessee in light of the Supreme Court's decision in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. V. Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati (2017)? The appellant (Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Jammu) argued that the present appeal challenges an order similar to those in a batch of appeals previously dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court on May 23, 2022, on identical grounds. Therefore, parity should be maintained. The respondent (M/s Jindal Drugs Ltd.) did not present any arguments, as indicated by 'None' in the cause list.
Sections Cited
Section 35G
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORDER
2022 Ali Mohammad Magrey-CJ (Oral):
At the very outset, what requires to be stated is that a batch of appeals were filed before this Court by the Commissioner, Central, GST and Central Excise (Jammu and Kashmir), Jammu under Section 35 G of the Central Excise Act, 1994 (fort short „the Act‟) against the orders of different dates passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh (for short „the CESTAT‟), thereby setting aside the orders passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Adjudicating Authority and directing for the refund of the Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the assessee in view of the decision rendered by the Ape
The judgment continues below.
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