Commissioner Customs CGST And Central Excise vs. S Chattaraj

Held

The Court held that the appeal is not maintainable. The reasoning is based on the instructions dated 02.11.2023, which fix a monetary limit of Rs. 1 Crore for appeals to be filed by the Department before the High Court. Since the penalty involved in this case is Rs. 25,00,000/-, which is below the prescribed limit, the appeal is dismissed on the ground of not being maintainable. The Court explicitly stated that the questions raised in the appeal are kept open to be decided in appropriate proceedings, implying that the merits of the case were not adjudicated.

Facts

This matter comes before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore as Other Tax Appeal No. 1 of 2019. The appellant is the Commissioner, Customs, CGST and Central Excise, and the respondent is S. Chattaraj. The appeal concerns a penalty amount of Rs. 25,00,000/-. The Department filed an application (I.A. No. 5131 of 2024) seeking disposal of the appeal based on a monetary limit prescribed by instructions dated 02.11.2023. These instructions stipulate that appeals filed by the Department before the High Court must involve a monetary limit of Rs. 1 Crore. As the penalty in this case is below this threshold, the appeal was deemed not maintainable.

Key Issues

1. Whether the appeal filed by the Department is maintainable before the High Court, considering the monetary limit prescribed by the instructions dated 02.11.2023? The appellant (Revenue) argued that the appeal is not maintainable as the penalty amount of Rs. 25,00,000/- is below the stipulated monetary limit of Rs. 1 Crore for High Court appeals, as per the instructions dated 02.11.2023. The respondent (Petitioner) did not record any specific arguments on this point, as the disposal was based on the appellant's application.