2015 (12) TMI 1626 - AT - Central Excise

Maintainability of appeal - monetary limit - Held that - there are four Appeals and in each appeal amount involved is less than ₹ 5 Lakhs. Even if total amount which is ₹ 5,85,741/- is taken for the purpose of monetary limit, now as per the revised amount in the Board s Instruction dated 17-12-2015, the appeals involving ₹ 10 Lakhs and below are liable to be dismissed as per litigation policy - Appeals filed by the Revenue on litigation policy dismissed, being not maintainable.

Summary

Issues:
- Interpretation of litigation policy regarding the monetary limit for dismissing appeals.
- Application of Board Circular No. 390/Misc./163/2010-JC (8-2011) and subsequent instructions.
- Dismissal of appeals based on the revised monetary limit.

Analysis:
The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT MUMBAI involved four Appeals filed by the Revenue, each with an amount below &8377; 5 Lakhs. The issue at hand was the interpretation of the litigation policy concerning the monetary limit for dismissing appeals. The Revenue argued that the total amount of &8377; 5,85,741/- should be considered, while the Respondent contended that each appeal's amount should be evaluated separately based on Board Circular No. 390/Misc./163/2010-JC (8-2011) and subsequent instructions increasing the monetary limit to &8377; 10 Lakhs.

In the judgment, it was noted that even though the total amount exceeded &8377; 5 Lakhs, each individual appeal involved less than the threshold. Considering the revised monetary limit in the Board's Instruction dated 17-12-2015, appeals below &8377; 10 Lakhs were to be dismissed as per the litigation policy. Therefore, the Tribunal, after careful consideration of the arguments, dismissed the Revenue's appeals solely based on the litigation policy without delving into the merits of the cases. This decision was made to align with the updated monetary limit set forth by the Board's Instruction, emphasizing the importance of adherence to the policy guidelines in such matters.