The Mumbai Bench Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has dismissed the Service Tax appeal filed by the Revenue against Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appeal was not maintainable due to the low monetary value involved, in view of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) litigation policy.

The Division Bench comprising Justice S.K. Mohanty (Judicial Member) and M.M. Parthiban (Technical Member)noted that CBIC, in exercise of powers under Section 35R of the Central Excise Act, 1944—made applicable to Service Tax matters through Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994—has issued instructions from time to time to reduce government litigation. Under the latest CBIC Instruction dated 6 August 2024, the monetary threshold for filing appeals before CESTAT has been enhanced to Rs. 60 lakh.

The appeal arose from Order-in-Appeal dated 29 December 2020 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals-II), CGST & Central Excise, Mumbai, which had set aside the adjudication order dated 10 August 2020 and granted relief to Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd. Aggrieved by the appellate order, the Revenue approached the Tribunal. The total Service Tax demand involved in the dispute was ₹50 lakh.

The Tribunal observed that since the disputed Service Tax demand in the present case was below the prescribed threshold of ₹60 lakh, the Revenue was not permitted to file the appeal before CESTAT. Importantly, both the Revenue and the assessee agreed before the Bench that the appeal was liable to be dismissed on the ground of low tax effect in terms of the CBIC instruction.

Case Details

Case Title: Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Service Tax, Mumbai East Versus Angel Broking P. Ltd. 

Case No.: Service Tax Miscellaneous Application No. 86370 of 2025

Date:  28.01.2026

Counsel For  Appellant: S.B.P. Sinha, Authorized Representative

Counsel For Respondent: None

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