Commissioner Of CGST And Central Excise Jammu vs. M/S Cadila Pharmaceuticals LTD Samba

Facts

This is an appeal filed by the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise Jammu against M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Samba. The appeal concerns an unspecified tax period and challenges an order or action passed by an unspecified authority. The amount in dispute is not stated. The procedural history indicates that this appeal is identical to several other Excise Appeals previously considered and decided by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh vide a judgment and order dated May 23, 2022, in which CEA No. 10 of 2020 was the leading case. The appellant's counsel was heard.

Held

The Court held that the present appeal is squarely covered by the previous judgment and order dated May 23, 2022, passed in CEA No. 10/2020 and connected appeals. The reasoning was that the appellant's counsel conceded that no new grounds were available, indicating the matter was identical to those previously decided. Therefore, the Court found no reason to deviate from its earlier decision. The ratio decidendi is that appeals presenting identical facts and legal issues, with no new grounds raised by the appellant, will be dismissed on the same terms as prior judgments. The operative direction was to dismiss the appeal on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the aforementioned prior judgment.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present appeal is squarely covered by the judgment and order dated May 23, 2022, passed in CEA No. 10/2020 and connected appeals. The appellant argued that no new grounds are available to them, implying the matter is indeed covered. The respondent's arguments are not recorded in the judgment. The issue turns on the principle of res judicata or stare decisis, as applied to identical appeals previously decided by the same court.