By TIOL News Service

MUMBAI, AUG 22, 2017: WITH almost 14000 appeals pending in Mumbai CESTAT, the Bench is quite reluctant to grant early hearings and is asking the appellants, both the Revenue and assessee, to make such applications in October.

Moreover, in respect of all the matters remanded by the CESTAT, the adjudicating authorities are being advised to pass orders latest by December 2017 as those cases were already nearly a decade old.

In this scenario, the Tribunal, apparently, is not keen to grant any adjournments when old matters come up for hearing.

The present appeal was filed by the PSU oil giant in the year 2008 against an order-in-original passed by the CCE, Mumbai.

When the matter came on board recently, the Chief Secretarial Assistant of the company appeared before the CESTAT and informed that since the - "Executives of the appellant Company were busy with procedural requirement of GST", an adjournment may be granted.

The Bench was not impressed and, therefore, observed -

+ Such plea is not entertain able to grant of adjournment. It is a settled law in the case of Salem Bar Association, Tamil Nadu vs. Union of India - AIR-2005-SC-3353 that litigants have no right to ask for adjournment.

+ Appellant is a public sector Company and it has a very casual approach to law without any seriousness to protect public interest.

Considering the appeal filed as an abuse of process of law, the same was dismissed.

(See 2017-TIOL-3027-CESTAT-MUM)