Case Law Details
Supreme Treves Pvt. Ltd. Vs Union of India (Gujrat high court)
Gujarat High Court held that Tribunal cannot abdicate its duty of deciding the matter on merits till the outcome of pending matter before Apex Court. Section 35C(1) of the the Central Excise Act, mandates the Tribunal to dispose of the appeals on merits.
Facts- It is the grievance of the petitioners that the Tribunal instead of deciding the matter has remanded it to the Assessing Officer in view of the fact that the matter being a case of M/s. PCM Cement Concrete Private Limited vs. Commissioner of Central Excise Customs and Service Tax (Civil Appeal Nos.005702-005703/2018) is pending before the Supreme Court.
Conclusion- We notice that the entire basis of remand ordered by the Appellate Tribunal is on the ground of pending aforesaid Civil Appeal. Secondly, the Tribunal has noted that to adjudicate the issue involved the matter needs to be reconsidered considering not only the position of income tax but also on basis of terms and conditions of the employment of Directors. Also held that the Directors of a company were employees, and remuneration paid to Directors was not chargeable to service tax. In such circumstances, we find that the approach of the Tribunal for remand was not proper.
The Tribunal is a creation of statute. Section 35C(1) of the the Central Excise Act, mandates the Tribunal to dispose of the appeals on merits. It was simply not open for the Tribunal to jettison the litigation in this manner.
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