The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld the decision of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in dismissing the Excise Duty Appeal for non-deposit of mandatory pre-deposit.
The bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Gajendra Singh has relied on the decision of M/s Shree Marwal Sewashram v/s Customs, Excise & Service Tax, Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi by which the writ petition has been dismissed be declining the relaxation of pre-deposit which is mandatory under Section 35(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the order of dismissal of appeal by the Central Excise & Service Tax, Appellate Tribunal has been affirmed.
The petitioner/assessee is a proprietor of M/s Hari Om Traders. The respondent, Commissioner, Central Excise Service Tax and Central Excise issued a show cause notice. After the search was conducted o and the panchnama prepared on the same day. The petitioners participated in the notice and various dates were given to the petitioners for appearance, examination and cross-examination of witnesses.
The commissioner passed a final order affirming the demand of Rs.8891.14 Lakhs as excise duty payable by the petitioner in terms of Rule 17(2) of Paan Masala Packing Machine (Capacity Determination & Collection of Duty) Rules, 2008 read with Section 11A(4) of Central Excise Act, 1944. The commissioner has also ordered for interest and the penalty of Rs.8891.14 Lacs under Rule 17(1) of Rules, 2008 r/w Section 11AC (1C) of Act, 1944. A further penalty of Rs.50 Lacs has also been imposed under Rule 26 of Central Excise Rules, 2002.
The petitioners preferred an appeal under Section 35B of Act, 1944. Since the petitioners did not deposit the statutory amount before filing appeal, therefore, vide order dated 09.02.2021, the appeal has been dismissed hence, the petitioners have filed the present petition.
The petitioners preferred a Central Excise Appeal. The appeal came up for hearing on 29.10.2021, the counsel for the appellant sought permission to withdraw the appeal with liberty to file appropriate proceedings and accordingly the CEA was dismissed with liberty as prayed for and thereafter, the petitioners have filed the present petition invoking extraordinary jurisdiction for the purpose of waiving of mandatory condition of pre-deposit.
The sole issue raised was whether the condition of pre-deposit of statutory amount in order to entertain the appeal can be relaxed in exercise of power under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
The court held that the Tribunal has not committed any error while dismissing the appeal due to non-deposit of the statutory amount as per provisions of Section 35(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944.
Case Details
Case Title: GURNOMAL MATTA Versus CUSTOM EXECISE AND SERVICE TAX AND OTHERS
Case No.: WRIT PETITION No. 24490 of 2021
Date: 16/05/2025
Counsel For Appellant: Ashok Kumar Sethi
Counsel For Respondent: Prasanna Prasad
