Custom, Excise & Service Tax Tribunal
Khammam Municipal Council vs Commissioner Of Central Excise, ... on 10 February, 2014
CUSTOMS, EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL SOUTH ZONAL BENCH BANGALORE Final Order No. 20205 / 2014 Application(s) Involved: ST/Stay/1032/2012 in ST/1468/2012-DB Appeal(s) Involved: ST/1468/2012-DB [Arising out of Order-in-Appeal No. 76/2012 dated 29/02/2012 passed by the Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Hyderabad] Khammam Municipal Council The Municipal Commissioner H. No. 8-1-62, Municipal Road, Khammam Dist - 507 001 Appellant(s) Versus Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax - Hyderabad-III Opp LB Stadium Road, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad - 500 004, Andhra Pradesh Respondent(s)
Appearance:
None For the Appellant Mr S. Teli, AR For the Respondent CORAM:
HON'BLE SHRI B.S.V. MURTHY, TECHNICAL MEMBER HON'BLE SHRI S.K. MOHANTY, JUDICIAL MEMBER Date of Hearing: 10/02/2014 Date of Decision: 10/02/2014 Order Per : B.S.V.MURTHY Nobody is present on behalf of the appellant. Heard the learned AR. After hearing the learned AR, we find that the appeal itself can be disposed of finally. Therefore the requirement of pre-deposit is waived and the appeal itself is taken up for final decision.
2. The learned Commissioner (Appeals) has observed that according to the available records as well as the appellants claim, the impugned order-in-original was received by the appellant on 10.03.2011 whereas the appeal was received in his office on 23.02.2012. Observing that the appeal was received much beyond the condonable period and he has no powers to condone the delay in filing the appeal, appeal has been rejected. In the appeal memo, the appellants have submitted that once the appeal was admitted by the Commissioner (Appeals), he should have decided it on merits and he could not have decided it on the ground that the appeal had been filed beyond time limit. We find that this submission cannot be considered at all in view of the decision of the Honble Supreme Court in the case of Singh Enterprises Vs. CCE, Jamshedpur [2008 (221) E.L.T. 163 (SC)]. Since the issue is no longer res integra and is finally decided by the Honble Supreme Court of India and this Tribunal has no authority to condone the delay in filing the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals), the appeal has to be rejected as without merits and is rejected.
(Order dictated and pronounced in open court) (S.K. MOHANTY) JUDICIAL MEMBER (B.S.V. MURTHY) TECHNICAL MEMBER iss