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 before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh 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 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, with CEA No. 10/2022 as the lead case, had previously been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court on May 23, 2022. The present appeal raised similar grounds to those already decided.
Held
The Court dismissed the appeal, following the precedent set by a Coordinate Bench in a judgment dated May 23, 2022, which dealt with a batch of similar appeals. The reasoning was that the instant appeal was filed against a similar order on almost identical grounds that had already been adjudicated upon and decided by the Coordinate Bench. To maintain consistency and parity, the Court applied the same decision. Any interim directions that were in effect were vacated. The Court did not explicitly discuss the merits of the refund claim or the applicability of the SRD Nutrients case to the present facts, relying solely on the previous judgment of the Coordinate Bench.
Key Issues
1. Whether the CESTAT was correct in directing 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'. The Appellant (Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Jammu) argued that the present appeal raises 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. Therefore, to maintain parity, the present appeal should also be dismissed on the same terms. The Respondent (M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd.) did not present any arguments before the Court.
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 Nutrient
The judgment continues below.
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