2005 (1) TMI 715 - HC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against order of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal - Delay in filing appeal - Rejection of writ petitions by Single Judge.

Analysis:
1. The case involved appeals against an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore, rejecting the appellant firm's appeal due to a delay of nearly 7 months and 10 days in filing the appeal. The Tribunal refused to condone the delay, leading to the rejection of the appeal. The appellant then filed writ petitions before the High Court challenging the rejection.

2. The Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise had issued a show cause notice to the appellant firm, directing it to explain why an excess amount should not be added to the sale price of goods manufactured by them. The Deputy Commissioner also highlighted various omissions by the firm. Despite the firm's detailed reply denying the allegations, the Deputy Commissioner confirmed the proposal, leading to an appeal before the Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise (Appeals).

3. The first appellate authority directed the appellant to make a pre-deposit to entertain the appeal. After the appellant failed to comply fully with the pre-deposit order, the appeal was rejected for non-compliance. Subsequently, the appellant approached the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, which also rejected the appeal due to the delay in filing and the insufficient cause shown to condone the delay.

4. The High Court, in its judgment, upheld the decision of the learned Single Judge who rejected the writ petitions. The Single Judge observed that discretionary orders by judicial authorities and Tribunals are not interfered with by a Writ Court unless they are arbitrary or capricious. The Single Judge found the reasons for rejecting the appeal by the Appellate Tribunal to be satisfactory and not arbitrary or capricious, leading to the rejection of the writ petitions by the High Court.

5. The High Court, after careful perusal of the Single Judge's order, concurred with the reasoning and findings, concluding that there was no error warranting interference in the appeals. Therefore, the High Court rejected the appeals filed by the appellant firm, affirming the decision of the Single Judge and upholding the rejection of the writ petitions.

In conclusion, the High Court upheld the rejection of the appeals against the order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, emphasizing the importance of showing sufficient cause for condoning delays in filing appeals and the limited scope of interference by Writ Courts in discretionary orders of judicial authorities and Tribunals.