Commissioner Of CGST And Central Excise Jammu vs. M/S Gaurav Agro Chem Industries Sicop Kathua

Held

The Court held that the appeal was barred by limitation. The Court noted that a similar issue concerning condonation of delay on similar grounds had been dealt with in CEA No. 10/2020. In that case, the Division Bench of the High Court had dismissed the appeal as being barred by limitation. Applying the same reasoning to the present appeal, the Court found that the delay of 1103 days was not condonable. Consequently, the appeal and all connected applications were dismissed on the grounds of limitation. The ratio decidendi is that appeals filed beyond the prescribed limitation period, without sufficient cause, will be dismissed, and precedent from a Division Bench on similar facts will be followed.

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 an order dated March 6, 2018, passed by CESTAT Chandigarh. The appeal was delayed by 1103 days, and a separate application for condonation of delay was filed. The appellant's counsel acknowledged that a similar issue had arisen in a previous appeal, CEA No. 10/2020, where the grounds for delay condonation were similar. In that prior case, the Division Bench of the High Court had dismissed the appeal as barred by limitation. The present appeal concerns M/s Gaurav Agro Chem Industries SICOP Kathua as the respondent.

Key Issues

1. Whether the delay of 1103 days in filing the appeal under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944, can be condoned. Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner, Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise (J&K) Jammu, sought condonation of delay, presenting grounds for the delay. However, the judgment does not detail these specific grounds. Respondent's Arguments: The respondent, M/s Gaurav Agro Chem Industries SICOP Kathua, did not present arguments as the appeal was dismissed on the grounds of limitation based on a previous judgment.