Commissioner Of CGST And Central Excise Jammu vs. M/S Bbf Industries LTD Industrial Growth Centre Samba Jammu J And K
Facts
The Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise (J&K), Jammu, filed an appeal before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh against an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The CESTAT had set aside orders passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Adjudicating Authority, directing a refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the respondent, M/s BBF Industries Ltd. This decision was based on the Supreme Court's ruling in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd. V. Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati. A batch of similar appeals, including the lead case CEA No. 10/2022, had previously been dismissed by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court on May 23, 2022. The present appeal was filed under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1994.
Held
The Court held that the instant appeal presented identical grounds and challenged a similar order as a batch of appeals previously considered and decided by a Coordinate Bench of the High Court on May 23, 2022. In order to maintain parity with the previous judgment, the Court dismissed the present appeal on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the earlier decision. Any interim directions that were subsisting were also vacated. The ratio decidendi is that appeals with identical facts, grounds, and challenging similar orders to those previously decided by a coordinate bench should be dismissed to maintain consistency and judicial discipline, following the precedent set by the earlier judgment.
Key Issues
1. Whether the CESTAT's order directing the refund of Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess to the assessee, based on the Supreme Court's decision in M/s SRD Nutrients Pvt. Ltd., is legally sustainable, and if the present appeal, filed under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1994, should be allowed. The appellant (Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise) 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 the High Court on May 23, 2022. Therefore, parity should be maintained. The respondent (M/s BBF Industries Ltd.) did not appear before the Court, and no arguments were recorded on their behalf.
Sections Cited
Section 35G
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Serial No. 02 Regular Cause List
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU
CEA No. 302/2022
Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise (J&K), Jammu
… Appellant(s)
Through: - Mr Jagpaul Singh, Advocate.
V/s
M/s BBF Industries Lld. (U-II), IGC Centre, Samba, Jammu, J&K … Respondent(s) Through: - None. CORAM:
Hon’ble the Chief Justice
Hon’ble Mr Justice Puneet Gupta, Judge
(ORDER) 09.11.2022 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 Nutri
The judgment continues below.
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