Commissioner Of Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. M/S Berger Paints INDIA Limited Igc Samba J And K

Held

The Court held that the appeal was barred by limitation. It observed that the appellant had sought condonation of a significant delay of 1588 days. The Court took note of its own previous decision in CEA No. 10/2020, where a similar application for condonation of delay, based on similar grounds, was dismissed by a Division Bench. Applying the principle of consistency and the precedent set by the earlier judgment, the Court found no reason to deviate from that decision. Therefore, the delay condonation application was rejected, and consequently, the appeal was dismissed as being barred by limitation. No specific findings were made on the merits of the original dispute before CESTAT.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K) Jammu filed an appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, against a final order dated March 6, 2018, passed by CESTAT Chandigarh. The appeal was delayed by 1588 days, and a separate application was filed for condonation of this delay. The appellant's counsel acknowledged that a similar issue had arisen in a prior appeal (CEA No. 10/2020) where the appellant also sought condonation of delay on similar grounds. However, in that previous case, a Division Bench of the High Court had dismissed the appeal as barred by limitation.

Key Issues

1. Whether the delay of 1588 days in filing the appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, can be condoned, considering the grounds presented by the appellant. The appellant argued that the delay was due to administrative reasons and sought condonation. The revenue (appellant) relied on the grounds presented in their delay condonation application. The respondent (M/s Berger Paints India Limited) did not present any arguments as the matter was decided on the preliminary issue of limitation. The Court noted that a similar issue regarding delay condonation had been dealt with in a previous appeal (CEA No. 10/2020) where the Court had dismissed the appeal as barred by limitation.