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 from lower authorities and directed a refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. IGC Samba. This direction was based on the Supreme Court's decision in 'M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. V. Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati'. A similar batch of appeals by the Commissioner, including a lead case, had been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of this High Court on May 23, 2022. The present appeal was filed on similar grounds.
Held
The High Court dismissed the appeal, holding that it was filed on almost identical grounds and challenged a similar order as a batch of appeals previously considered and decided by a Coordinate Bench of the same Court. The Court explicitly stated that to maintain parity, the present appeal would be dismissed on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the previous judgment dated May 23, 2022. Any subsisting interim directions were also vacated. The ratio decidendi is that appeals raising identical issues and grounds, which have already been decided by a coordinate bench, should be dismissed in parity to maintain consistency and avoid conflicting judgments.
Key Issues
1. Whether the present appeal, challenging a CESTAT order directing refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the respondent, is maintainable in light of a previous judgment by a Coordinate Bench of this Court dismissing similar appeals on identical grounds. Petitioner's Argument (Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise Jammu): The petitioner argued that the present appeal raises similar grounds and challenges a similar order as a batch of appeals previously dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court on May 23, 2022. They relied on the principle of parity to seek dismissal of the current appeal. Respondent's Argument (M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd IGC Samba): No arguments were recorded for the respondent as none appeared.
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 Apex Court in case titled ‘M/s SRD Nutrients
The judgment continues below.
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