Commissioner Of Central GST And Central Excise Jammu vs. M/S Berger Paints LTD Sidco Samba

Held

The Court held that all the Excise Appeals filed by the Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise, J&K Jammu, were squarely covered by the Court's previous judgment and order dated 23rd May 2022, passed in CEA No. 10 of 2020 and connected appeals. The Court found no new grounds were available to the appellant that would warrant a different decision. Consequently, the Court dismissed all the appeals on the same terms and conditions as laid down in the aforementioned earlier judgment. The ratio decidendi is that appeals raising identical issues and facts as previously decided by the High Court, without any new grounds, will be dismissed following the precedent. No specific operative directions beyond dismissal were mentioned, and no issues were expressly left undecided.

Facts

The Commissioner of Central GST and Central Excise, J&K Jammu (Appellant/Petitioner) filed numerous 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 by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu. The Court noted that all these appeals were similar and identical to several other Excise Appeals previously decided by 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 were available to the appellant.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present Excise Appeals are covered by the Court's previous decision dated 23rd May 2022 in CEA No. 10 of 2020 and connected appeals? The Appellant/Petitioner argued that the appeals raised no new grounds and were squarely covered by the previous judgment. The Respondent's arguments are not 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 prior case.