2023 (7) TMI 1303 - AT - Central Excise

Refund claim - requirement of pre-deposit complied with - treatment of statutory dues in respect of tax payers for whom the proceedings have been finalized under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 - HELD THAT - The resolution plan has been approved by NCLT vide order dated 08.03.2019 according to which any government dues as on date of the NCLT order stand extinguished. In this position, the present appeal is liable to be disposed of as infructuous. Applicability of Circular No. 187/19/2022-GST dated 27.12.2022 regarding dues against the appellant - HELD THAT - The same may be complied with by the Revenue in the present case. Refund of pre-deposit - HELD THAT - Since the subject matter does not involve the refund of pre-deposit, this Tribunal is not required to pass any order on the same. The appellant is at liberty to approach the department if any claim is maintainable which can be dealt with by the Revenue in accordance with law. The appeal is dismissed as infructuous.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are the extinguishment of government dues under a resolution plan approved by NCLT, compliance with CBIC circular regarding treatment of statutory dues post IBC proceedings, and the refund claim related to pre-deposit made by the appellant.

Extinguishment of Government Dues:
The appellant, formerly known as M/s. Essar Steel India Limited, underwent IBC proceedings resulting in the approval of a resolution plan by NCLT, extinguishing all government dues as of the date of the NCLT order. The Tribunal found the appeal to be infructuous based on this fact.

Compliance with CBIC Circular:
The appellant's counsel referred to Circular No. 187/19/2022-GST issued by CBIC, clarifying the treatment of statutory dues for taxpayers whose proceedings have concluded under IBC. The Tribunal directed the Revenue to comply with the circular regarding dues against the appellant.

Refund Claim of Pre-Deposit:
The appellant had deposited a pre-deposit under Section 35F, seeking a refund. However, the Revenue argued that the appeal did not involve a refund issue, and thus, the Tribunal could not pass any order on the refund of pre-deposit. The Tribunal stated that the appellant could approach the department for any maintainable refund claim, which would be handled by the Revenue in accordance with the law.

Dismissal of Appeal:
Considering the extinguishment of government dues and the lack of refund issues directly related to the appeal, the Tribunal dismissed the appeal as infructuous. No order was passed regarding the refund of the pre-deposit, as it was deemed outside the scope of the present case.

(Separate Judgment not mentioned)

The judgment was pronounced in the open court on 21.07.2023 by Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Nair, Member (Judicial) and Hon'ble Mr. C.L. Mahar, Member (Technical).