2014 (12) TMI 780 - HC - Central Excise

Power of Tribunal to extend stay beyond the period of 365 days - Held that - As such on expiry of maximum period of 180 days, the assessee orig. appellant is required to submit application for extension of stay each time after completion of 140 days and the learned Tribunal is required to consider the individual case and pass a speaking order whether the delay in not disposing the appeal is attributable to original appellant assessee or not and if it is found that the original appellant assessee in whose favour the stay has been granted is not cooperating in early disposal of appeal and/or the delay in disposing appeal is attributable to the original appellant assessee, the learned Tribunal is not required to extend the stay more particularly considering the provisions of section 35C( 2A) of the Central Excise Act. - appeal disposed of by reserving the liberty in favour of the department to submit appropriate application before the learned Tribunal and place the order passed by this Court in 2014 (7) TMI 738 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT and other allied appeals in the appeal so that the learned Tribunal may pass appropriate order on the said application calling upon the appellant assessee to prefer separate application after completion of every 180 days and thereafter the Tribunal to pass appropriate speaking order considering the observations in our judgment and order passed in Tax Appeal No.341/2014 and other tax appeals - Appeal disposed of.

Summary

Issues:
Challenging extension of stay beyond 365 days, Passing common order for extension of stay, Requirement of passing a speaking order while extending stay.

Extension of Stay Beyond 365 Days:
The appellant, Revenue, challenged the order of the Tribunal extending the stay granted beyond 365 days from the date of initial grant. The main issue was whether the Tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by extending the stay beyond the statutory limit. The High Court observed that if the delay in disposing of the appeal within 365 days is not due to the appellant and the appellant has cooperated in the early disposal of the appeal, the Tribunal may extend the stay beyond 365 days. However, the Tribunal must review the situation every 180 days and consider each application for extension of stay individually. The Court emphasized that the Tribunal should not extend the stay indefinitely and must prioritize appeals where stay is operative against the revenue.

Passing Common Order for Extension of Stay:
Another issue raised was whether the Tribunal erred in passing a common order for extension of stay instead of considering each matter independently. The Court clarified that after 180 days, the appellant must submit an application for extension of stay each time, and the Tribunal must pass a speaking order based on the individual circumstances of each case. The Tribunal was directed to maintain a separate register for appeals with stay and give priority to such cases for early disposal.

Requirement of Passing a Speaking Order:
The question of whether the Tribunal is required to pass a speaking order while extending stay was also addressed. The Court held that the Tribunal must pass a speaking and reasoned order when extending stay. All matters were remanded to the Tribunal to pass appropriate orders afresh within a specified period, ensuring that the applications for extension of stay do not become infructuous. The Tribunal was directed to dispose of the appeals finally even during the extended stay period.

Conclusion:
The High Court disposed of the present appeal, reserving the liberty for the department to submit appropriate applications before the Tribunal following the guidelines set in a previous judgment. The department was instructed to place the earlier order of the Court in the appeal for the Tribunal's consideration. The Court emphasized the importance of complying with the observations made in the previous judgment while considering applications for extension of stay. The present tax appeal was thus concluded with these directions and observations.