2012 (11) TMI 1190 - HC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Territorial jurisdiction for entertaining the appeal and time limitation for filing the appeal.

Territorial Jurisdiction: The appeal was filed under section 35 G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 against an order passed by the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi. An objection was raised that the adjudicating order was passed by the Panchkula Commissionerate in Haryana, thus the jurisdiction for entertaining the appeal lies with the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The appellant argued that a part of the cause of action arose in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, giving jurisdiction to the present Court. However, the Court held that as per the decision in M/s. Ambica Industries case, the appropriate appellate authority should be in the State where the first court is located, which in this case is Panchkula, Haryana. Therefore, the Court concluded that it has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal, and it lies with the Punjab & Haryana High Court.

Time Limitation: Another objection was raised regarding the appeal being time-barred, as the order under challenge was passed on 04.09.2009, and the appeal was presented on 06.11.2012, after more than 3 years. However, the Court did not delve into this issue as the preliminary objection regarding territorial jurisdiction was sustained. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as not maintainable.