Commissioner Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. M/S Cadila Pharmaceuticals LTD Igc Samba J And K

Held

The Court held that the explanation for the delay was not acceptable. It noted that a similar explanation had been tendered by the appellant in a previous case, CEA No. 10/2020, which was dismissed by a Division Bench of the same High Court for being barred by limitation. The Court found that the present case was identical to the previously dismissed case, with no additional grounds presented for condoning the significant delay of 1459 days. Therefore, the Court applied the reasoning from its previous order in CEA No. 10/2020. The appeal was dismissed as being barred by limitation. No issue was expressly left undecided.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K), Jammu, filed an appeal under Section 35-G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, challenging an order dated March 8, 2018, passed by the CESTAT, Chandigarh. The appeal was delayed by 1459 days. The appellant explained the delay by stating that the decision to file the appeal was taken after the Supreme Court's decision in M/s Unicorn Industries Vs. U.O.I. and Ors (2020) 3 SCC 492. The appellant's counsel conceded that the grounds for condonation of delay were identical to those in a previous case, CEA No. 10/2020, which was dismissed by the same High Court for being barred by limitation.

Key Issues

1. Whether the delay of 1459 days in filing the appeal can be condoned, considering the explanation provided by the appellant. The appellant argued that the delay was attributable to the time taken to decide on filing the appeal after the Supreme Court's decision in M/s Unicorn Industries Vs. U.O.I. and Ors (2020) 3 SCC 492, which they believed settled the law. They contended that this Supreme Court judgment provided a fresh impetus to pursue the appeal. The revenue or State did not record any arguments in this regard.