Commissioner Of CGST And Central Excise Jammu vs. M/S Cadila Pharmaceuticals LTD Igc Samba
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 from lower authorities and directed the refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals 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, including a lead case, had previously been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court on May 23, 2022. The instant appeal raised similar grounds to those already decided.
Held
The Court held that the instant appeal should be dismissed on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the Judgment dated May 23, 2022, passed by the Coordinate Bench. The reasoning was based on the fact that the appeal raised grounds identical to those already dealt with and decided by the Coordinate Bench in a previous batch of appeals concerning similar orders and issues. The Court emphasized the need to maintain parity. Consequently, all interim directions, if any, subsisting at the time of the order were vacated. The specific issue of refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess, as directed by CESTAT based on the SRD Nutrients judgment, was implicitly upheld by dismissing the Revenue's appeal, but the Court's direct reasoning focused on the procedural parity with the prior judgment.
Key Issues
1. Whether the present appeal, raising grounds identical to those decided in a previous batch of appeals by a Coordinate Bench, should be dismissed on the same terms. The Appellant (Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Jammu) argued that the present appeal involves identical grounds and challenges a similar order as a batch of appeals previously dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court on May 23, 2022. The Appellant relied on the principle of parity to seek dismissal of the instant appeal on the same terms. The Respondent (M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd.) did not present any arguments as they were noted as 'None' in the cause list.
Sections Cited
Section 35G
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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 Apex Court in case titled ‘M/s SRD Nutrients
The judgment continues below.
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