Commissioner Of Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. M/S Kashmir Agro And Chemicals Sicop Industrial Area Kathua J And K

Held

The Court held that the present appeal is similar and identical to several other Excise Appeals that were considered and decided by the Court in its judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022, with CEA No. 10 of 2020 being the leading case. The Court found that no new grounds were available to the appellant in the present appeal. Therefore, the matter was considered squarely covered by the aforementioned prior decision. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022 passed in CEA No. 10/2020 and connected appeals. The ratio decidendi is that appeals with identical facts and no new grounds are bound by previous High Court judgments on similar matters. No specific issues were expressly left undecided.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise, J&K Jammu (appellant) filed an appeal against M/S Kashmir Agro and Chemicals SICOP Industrial Area Kathua (respondent). The appeal was stated to be similar and identical to several other Excise Appeals previously considered and decided by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh vide a judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022, where CEA No. 10 of 2020 was the leading case. The appellant's counsel was heard, and the Court found no new grounds available to the appellant, deeming the matter squarely covered by the prior decision. The specific tax period(s) and the amount in dispute were not recorded in this judgment. The procedural history leading to this appeal is not detailed, beyond it being an appeal before the High Court.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present appeal is squarely covered by the judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022 passed in CEA No. 10/2020 and connected appeals, as argued by the appellant's counsel? Contentions: Petitioner/Appellant: The appellant argued that the present appeal is similar and identical to several other Excise Appeals previously decided by the Court. They contended that no new grounds are available to them, and thus the matter is covered by the prior decision. They relied on the Court's own previous judgment dated 23rd May 2022 in CEA No. 10/2020 and connected appeals. Revenue/State: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the revenue or state in this instance, other than implicitly agreeing with the appellant's position that the matter is covered by precedent.