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ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR ... v. SURESH KUMAR AND CO....
Factual and Procedural Background
These proceedings concern Civil Appeal Nos. 11339-11342/2018 filed by the Additional Director General (Adjudication), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (the revenue/appellant) against Suresh Kumar and Co. Impex Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. (respondents). The matter came up before the Supreme Court of India on 20-08-2025. The Court granted permission to amend the appeal(s) and disposed of the appeals by passing an order that partly allowed the revenue’s appeals and set aside the Tribunal’s judgment, restoring the assessees’ appeals to the Tribunal for rehearing.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the Tribunal’s judgment and order should be set aside and the assessees’ appeals restored for rehearing on grounds other than Section 138C(4) of the Act, 1962.
Arguments of the Parties
The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.
Table of Precedents Cited
No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court’s operative reasoning is reflected through its reference to a “signed reportable order” and the extracted relevant portion. The Court confined its determination to the issue relating to Section 138C(4) of the Act, 1962, and on that basis partly allowed the revenue’s appeals. It set aside the Tribunal’s judgment and restored the assessees’ appeals to the Tribunal to be reheard on grounds other than Section 138C(4). The Court further directed that, on remand, the Tribunal must rehear the entire appeals on their own merits and must not be influenced by the Supreme Court’s observations, which were expressly limited to the Section 138C(4) issue.
Holding and Implications
PARTLY ALLOWED: The Supreme Court partly allowed the revenue’s appeals, set aside the Tribunal’s judgment and order, and restored the assessees’ appeals to the Tribunal for rehearing on grounds other than Section 138C(4) of the Act, 1962. Permission to amend the appeal(s) was granted, and pending application(s), if any, were disposed of.
The direct effect is that the Tribunal proceedings are revived and must be reheard afresh on their merits, subject to the Court’s clarification that its observations are confined only to the Section 138C(4) issue and should not influence the Tribunal on remand. The provided opinion does not indicate any broader implications or that any new precedent was set.
ITEM NO.20 COURT NO.6 SECTION XVII-A
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Civil Appeal Nos.11339-11342/2018
ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL ADJUDICATION,
DIRECTORATE OF REVENUE INTELLIGENCE Appellant(s)
VERSUS
SURESH KUMAR AND CO. IMPEX PVT. LTD. & ORS. Respondent(s) (IA No. 96057/2019 - AMENDMENT OF APPEAL / PETITION / I.A. IA No. 161767/2018 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
JUDGMENT, IA No. 161766/2018 - STAY APPLICATION) Date : 20-08-2025 This matter was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.B. PARDIWALA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.V. VISWANATHAN For Appellant(s) : Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee, ASG Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Nisha Bagchi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Digvijay Dam, Adv.
Mr. Amit Sharma B., Adv.
Mr. Shaurya R Rai, Adv.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Ashish Batra, Adv. Mr. Amit K. Nain, AOR
Mr. Wattan Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Kartik Yadav, Adv.
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UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
1. Permission for amendment of appeal(s) is granted.
2. The appeals are partly allowed in terms of the signed reportable order, which is placed on the file.
3. The relevant part of the signed reportable order is as under:-
"….we partly allow these appeals of the revenue.
48. The judgment and order passed by the Tribunal is hereby set aside. The appeals filed by the assessees before the Tribunal are ordered to be restored to its original file and to be reheard by the Tribunal on grounds other than Section 138C(4) of the Act, 1962.
49. It is needless to clarify that on remand the Tribunal shall rehear the entire appeals on their own merits without being influenced in any manner by any of the observations made by this Court. Our observations are confined only on the issue of Section 138C(4) of the Act, 1962.
4. Pending application(s), if any, stands disposed of.
(CHANDRESH) (POOJA SHARMA)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS COURT MASTER (NSH)
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