Monetary limit under litigation policy rendered Revenue appeals non-maintainable and led to dismissal at the threshold

Revenue appeals were found non-maintainable under the Board's litigation policy because each of the four matters involved an amount below the applicable monetary threshold, and the aggregate also remained below the revised limit of Rs. 10 lakhs under the 17-12-2015 instruction. The prior Board circular on litigation policy governed maintainability, and the appeals were dismissed at the threshold without examination of the merits. The operative point is that appeals falling below the prescribed monetary limit under the litigation policy are not to be entertained for adjudication on merits.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Revenue appeals were liable to be dismissed under the litigation policy on the ground of the monetary limit prescribed by the Board.

Analysis: The appeals consisted of four separate matters, each involving an amount below the then-applicable monetary threshold. The aggregate amount was also considered, but the revised Board instruction dated 17-12-2015 enhanced the monetary limit to Rs. 10 lakhs for filing appeals, and the total amount involved remained below that revised limit. The prior Board circular on litigation policy was relied upon to determine the maintainability of the appeals.

Conclusion: The Revenue appeals were not maintainable under the litigation policy and were dismissed without examination of the merits.

Final Conclusion: The dispute was disposed of at the threshold on account of the applicable monetary limit under the Board's litigation policy.

Ratio Decidendi: Appeals falling below the applicable monetary limit prescribed under the Board's litigation policy are liable to be dismissed without adjudication on merits.

---