2016 (1) TMI 1183 - AT - Central Excise

CESTAT Mumbai Rejects New Ground in Appeal Applications

Control Touch Electronics (Poona) Pvt Ltd Versus Commissioner of Central Excise, Pune – III

Control Touch Electronics (Poona) Pvt Ltd Versus Commissioner of Central Excise, Pune – III - 2016 (335) E.L.T. 529 (Tri. - Mumbai) Issues involved:Permission to raise additional ground in appealAnalysis:The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT Mumbai pertains to two miscellaneous applications filed by the applicant/appellant seeking permission to introduce an additional ground not initially included in the appeal. The applicant argued that the sale price of resultant materials should be treated as cum duty price as they had not recovered any duty from customers. The applicant cited relevant provisions of the Central Excise Act, Circular DOF, and several judicial precedents to support their argument. On the contrary, the learned AR opposed the additional grounds citing various legal judgments that emphasized the importance of raising all grounds at the appropriate stages of litigation. The AR highlighted that the new grounds were never raised before any lower authority or in previous proceedings. The Tribunal considered the arguments presented by both parties and reviewed the judgments cited.The Tribunal referred to a judgment by the Hon'ble Supreme Court which stated that new issues not raised earlier in the proceedings cannot be introduced at a later stage. The Tribunal concluded that the new ground proposed by the applicant was not purely legal in nature and, therefore, could not be allowed at that stage. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the applications seeking permission to raise the additional ground in the appeal. The appeals were scheduled to be heard on a specific date following this decision.