Commissioner Of Central GST And Central Excise J And K Jammu vs. M/S Jammu Pigments PVT LTD Kathua Jammu And Kashmir

Held

The Court held that the present Excise Appeals are squarely covered by the judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022 passed in CEA No. 10 of 2020 and connected appeals. The reasoning was that no new grounds were available to the appellant in the current set of appeals. Consequently, the Court dismissed all the appeals on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the prior judgment. The ratio decidendi is that appeals raising identical issues and grounds as those already decided by the Court will be dismissed without re-adjudication. The operative direction was the dismissal of all appeals.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise, J&K Jammu (Appellant/Petitioner) filed multiple Excise Appeals (CEA Nos. 546, 554-587, 600, 602, 604-608, 622-636 of 2021 and CEA Nos. 1-94, 106-173 of 2022) against Kashmir Steel Rolling Mills (Respondent). The appeals were heard virtually by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu. The Court noted that these appeals were similar and identical to several other Excise Appeals previously decided by them via a judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022, where CEA No. 10 of 2020 was the leading case. Counsel for both parties were heard.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present Excise Appeals are covered by the previous judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022 in CEA No. 10 of 2020 and connected appeals? The Appellant/Petitioner argued that the present appeals raise no new grounds and are squarely covered by the aforementioned prior decision. The Respondent did not present any arguments as recorded in the judgment. The Court's decision hinges on whether the facts and legal issues presented in these appeals are identical to those decided in the leading case.