TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (7) TMI 793
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....ion from the Committee of Disputes, to pursue these appeals. The applicant was given liberty to apply for restoration of appeal on production of necessary clearance from COD. These three misc. applications, to recall these final orders and restore the appeals of 2006, were filed on 21.03.2017. 2. Ld. Counsel for the applicant submitted that these three appeals along with stay applications were filed by the applicant, against the original orders passed by the jurisdictional Commissioner. The issue involved is with reference to denial of cenvat credit along with imposition of penalties on the applicant. Aggrieved by the original orders, the applicant filed appeals but could not submit clearance from COD as required during the relevant time i....
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....11. Reliance was placed on the decision of the Tribunal vide Final Order No.52079 of 2016 dated 6.6.2016, where the Tribunal refused to interfere in the matter of denial of cenvat credit in the absence of COD clearance. On appeal, the Hon'ble Chattisgarh High Court remanded the matter to the Tribunal for a fresh decision, as the concept of COD has been done away with w.e.f. 17.02.2011. It is further submitted that the misc. applications filed now, though with long delay, cannot be dismissed on the ground of delay as there is no time limit to seek restoration of appeal. Reliance was placed on the decision of the Tribunal in applicant's own case - 2016-3-TMI- 1112-CESTAT-New Delhi. Considering the substantial amount involved and the applicant....
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....espectively, of the Tribunal, dismissing the appeals for want of COD clearance. In other words, the denial of COD clearance was not brought to the notice of the Tribunal at the time of passing final orders. In any case, it is clear that if such denial of COD clearance was brought to the notice of the Tribunal, the question of granting liberty to apply for restoration of appeal on production of necessary clearance from COD would not have arisen. In other words, the appeals would have been dismissed without any remark on possible restoration. Even in respect of appeal no.E/1288/2006, the COD gave clearance on 18.12.2007. It is not clear as to why the applicant did not bother to pursue the appeal by filing for restoration, as the liberty was g....
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.... Tribunal. The Apex Court mandated that "it shall be the obligation of every court and every Tribunal where such a dispute is raised hereafter to demand a clearance from the Committee in case it has not been so pleaded and in the absence of the clearance, the procedure would not be proceeded with". Only because in 2011, the Hon'ble Supreme Court done away with the said mechanism, it cannot be the reason for undoing all actions in terms of the earlier orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which was passed in 1991. In other words, it is nobody's case that all orders of dismissal due to COD related issues, passed by the Tribunal after 1991 could be re-opened for a fresh decision on merits. There is apparently no legal basis for such a propositi....
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.... the competent authority. Even considering that on 17.02.2011 the Hon'ble Supreme Court recalled the earlier order and dispensed with the COD clearance mechanism, for another 6 years, the applicant did not take any action regarding the dismissal orders passed in 2006. Here again, no reasons were putforth for such attitude of the applicant. During the course of argument, the ld. Counsel for the applicant simply submitted that there is no time limit to file application for restoration of appeal by recalling the earlier order. We are not convinced with such blanket assertion, camouflaging the unexplained delay of 10 years in filing the present misc. applications. The Hon'ble Bombay High Court in Kirtikumar Jawaharlal Shah - 2012 (282) ELT 217 ....