M/S Ans Construction LTD vs. Commissioner Of Central Exciseandser Tax

Held

The Court held that the appellant was entitled to withdraw the appeal. The Court granted the appellant the liberty to apply under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019. The reasoning was based on the appellant's instruction to their counsel to seek withdrawal for the purpose of availing the aforementioned scheme. The ratio decidendi is that a party can withdraw an appeal before the High Court if they wish to pursue an alternative resolution mechanism, such as a government-notified dispute resolution scheme, and such withdrawal can be permitted with liberty to pursue the alternative. The operative direction was to dismiss the appeal as withdrawn with liberty as prayed for.

Facts

The appellant, M/s ANS Construction Ltd. (now M/s Ans Construction Pvt. Ltd.), filed a Central Excise Appeal No. 19/2018 before the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur. The appeal was against the Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, Jaipur-I. The appellant's authorized signatory, Shri Thomas, instructed learned counsel to withdraw the appeal. The reason for withdrawal was the liberty to apply under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, which had been recently notified by the Department. No specific tax period or amount in dispute was mentioned in the order.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appellant is entitled to withdraw the present appeal with liberty to apply under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019? (Question of law) The appellant argued that they wished to avail the benefits of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, and therefore, sought permission to withdraw the current appeal with liberty to pursue that option. The respondent (Commissioner of GST) did not record any specific arguments against the withdrawal.