Eskay Design Vs Union of India (Madras High Court)
Dismissal of Challenge to Pan-India Jurisdiction of Central Excise Officers Upheld; Notification No. 22/2014 Sustained – Madras HC
The batch of writ appeals arose from investigations initiated by the Central Excise Department against assessees alleged to have failed to discharge their Service Tax liability. The principal dispute concerned the validity of investigations, inspections, and show cause notices issued by Central Excise Officers functioning outside the taxpayers’ local territorial jurisdiction. The appellants also challenged the show cause notices on the ground that the Department had not followed the pre-consultation procedure contemplated in Master Circular No. 1053/2/2017-CX dated 10.03.2017. In certain matters, Orders-in-Original passed pursuant to the show cause notices were also challenged.
The powers exercised by the officers were traced to Notification No. 22/2014-Service Tax dated 16.09.2014, issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs under the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Finance Act, 1994, the Central Excise Rules, 2002, and the Service Tax Rules, 1994. The notification appointed officers of the Directorate General of Audit, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence, and Directorate General of Service Tax as Central Excise Officers and invested them with powers under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 throughout India corresponding to their respective ranks. Based on this notification, inspections were conducted, show cause notices were issued, and in some cases adjudication culminated in Orders-in-Original.
