Court defers appeals & interim relief, awaiting Supreme Court decision. Respondent's objections addressed, seek Ministry of Finance clarification.

The court deferred the admission of appeals and continuation of interim relief due to a pending matter before the Supreme Court. The respondent's objections based on a circular were addressed, with the court suggesting seeking clarification from the Ministry of Finance. The court also considered a similar issue pending before the Supreme Court and decided to await its decision before addressing the refund order. Interim relief was maintained in light of the pending Supreme Court matter.

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Issues:
1. Objections raised by respondent regarding the admission of appeals and grant of interim relief.
2. Applicability of a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi, dated 17-8-2011.
3. Total amount of refund accruable to respondent.
4. Pending consideration of a similar issue before the Supreme Court in the matter of Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh v. M/s. Drish Shoes Ltd.
5. Decision on admitting the appeals and deferring consideration due to the pending matter before the Supreme Court.
6. Continuation of interim relief granted earlier.

Analysis:

1. The respondent raised objections concerning the admission of appeals and the grant of interim relief. The first objection was based on a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi, dated 17-8-2011, stating that appeals involving a monetary value exceeding &8377; 10,00,000 need not be entertained. However, the appellant argued that since the case pertained to a recurring issue regarding refunds, the circular might not be applicable. Additionally, the appellant highlighted that the total refund amount due to the respondent exceeded &8377; 33,00,000, necessitating the appeals to be entertained. The court suggested that the revenue seek clarification from the Ministry of Finance to resolve this matter.

2. It was brought to the court's attention that a similar issue was pending before the Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh v. M/s. Drish Shoes Ltd. The respondent's counsel mentioned that in the case of M/s. Drish Shoes, as no stay was granted by the Supreme Court, the department had to sanction the refund. Considering the identical issue under the Supreme Court's consideration, the court decided not to admit the appeals at that stage and deferred their consideration. The court also considered the respondent's request for directions to comply with the refund order issued by the authorities, to be addressed after the Supreme Court's decision in the pending Special Leave Petition.

3. The court decided to continue the interim relief that had been previously granted. This decision was made in light of the pending matter before the Supreme Court and the need to await the outcome of the Supreme Court's decision before proceeding with the admission and consideration of the appeals.

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