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CESTAT Chennai Disposes Reliance Communications' Customs Appeal Citing Approved NCLT
A two-member bench of the , has disposed of a customs appeal filed by , holding that omitted from a -approved under the cannot be pursued.
Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao presided over the matter, which involved an appeal against an order of the .
A Customs Appeal Halted by Insolvency
The dispute originated from a customs order against Reliance Communications. However, during the , the company entered . On , the NCLT approved a submitted by , the successful resolution applicant. The plan was made binding on all stakeholders, including government authorities.
When the matter came up for hearing, the Department's representative submitted the NCLT order and argued that the appeal could not proceed in light of the 's ruling in No one appeared for the appellant.
The Precedent
The Tribunal relied heavily on the
Ghanashyam Mishra
judgment, which settled the legal position on the
of an approved
. The
had held that once the
approves a plan under
(1) of the IBC
,
"the claims as provided in the
shall stand
"
and
"all such claims, which are not part of
, shall stand
."
Crucially, it added that
"no person will be entitled to initiate or continue any proceedings in respect to a claim, which is not part of the
."
The Court further clarified that owed to the Central Government, State Government, or local authority are included within this framework, even if was only .
What Happens to ?
Applying this principle, the CESTAT bench observed that neither side had informed it whether the customs dues under contest were part of the approved . Nevertheless, the Tribunal held that this did not allow the proceedings to continue.
It quoted the
's conclusion:
"All the dues including the
owed to the Central Government, any State Government or any local authority, if not part of the
, shall stand
and no proceedings in respect of such dues for the period prior to the date on which the
grants their approval under
could be continued."
The Tribunal made it clear that the present appeal could not be continued, regardless of whether the dues were included in the plan or not. If included, the plan governs; if omitted, they are .
Final Order
In a brief order pronounced on , the CESTAT disposed of the appeal, holding that no further proceedings were permissible. The decision underscores the of NCLT-approved resolution plans and reinforces that government authorities, like other creditors, are bound by the plan and cannot pursue omitted claims through .
