High Court Remands 20-Year-Old Excise Appeals for Fresh Decision After Tribunal Ignored Multiple Grounds

The dispute concerns two Central Excise Appeals filed by Reliance Industries Ltd. before the CESTAT. On 19 June 2007, the Tribunal disposed of both appeals solely based on this High Court’s earlier ruling in Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Co. Ltd. (2006), without adjudicating several substantial grounds (F to J) raised by the assessee relating to the treatment of sulphur as a by-product, applicability of Rule 6 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, clarifications by CBEC, use of GT fuel in relation to dutiable final products, and errors in the calculation of duty demand.

During the pendency of the present tax appeal before the Gujarat High Court, the Supreme Court reversed the very judgment (GNFC, 2006) that the Tribunal had relied upon solely. On 1 October 2025, a Coordinate Bench noted that grounds F to J were never examined. When the matter was taken up on 19 November 2025, the Revenue conceded that these grounds were indeed not adjudicated by the tribunal.

Issue Raised: Whether the Tribunal’s order, deciding the appeal exclusively on a single precedent later overturned, must be set aside and the matter remanded for adjudication of all remaining grounds under Order 41 Rule 23 CPC.

HC Held: The High Court held that the Tribunal disposed of the appeals on a preliminary point alone, namely by relying entirely on the High Court’s earlier judgment in GNFC, which the Supreme Court has since reversed. The Tribunal failed to consider or decide several important and specifically pleaded grounds.

Relying on Order 41 Rule 23 CPC and the Supreme Court’s decision in APMC Bangalore v. State of Karnataka (2022), the Court observed that where multiple issues are raised but the adjudicating body decides only a preliminary point, and that point is later invalidated, a remand becomes necessary to avoid leaving material issues undecided. The Court found this a fit case for remand and therefore set aside the Tribunal’s order. The excise appeals were restored to the Tribunal’s original file with directions to decide all remaining grounds afresh.

Given that the matter is over 20 years old, the Tribunal was directed to dispose of the appeals within six months of receiving the High Court’s order.

To Read Full Judgment, Download PDF Given Below