2015 (10) TMI 1216 - AT - Central Excise

Maintainability of appeal - Non compliance with pre deposit order - Mandatory pre deposit - Held that - There were four other demands pertaining to the appellant and the total duty involved in all the cases is ₹ 151.87 lakhs and in fact, the assessee s appeal in one of the said cases has been dismissed by this Tribunal. The amount involved in the said case is ₹ 145.50 lakhs and in respect of the remaining three cases, there is neither any stay for recovery nor any other details submitted by the appellant on the stay application that has been filed anywhere. It was further informed that the amount recovered ₹ 36.58 lakhs is against the recoverable amount of ₹ 151.87 lakhs involved in other four cases. Further, as far as the present appeal is concerned, no amount has been appropriated for the simple reason that even in respect of the remaining cases, the total amount is yet to be recovered. - appellant has not deposited the amount of 7.5% as required under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and in view of this factual position the appeal filed by the appellant is not maintainable - Decided against assessee.

Summary

Issues: Failure to deposit 7.5% of Central Excise duty amount as required under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944; Appropriation of funds from the appellant's bank account by the department; Dismissal of the appellant's appeal due to non-compliance with deposit requirements.

Issue 1: Failure to deposit 7.5% of Central Excise duty amount
The appellant filed an appeal without depositing 7.5% of the Central Excise duty amount as mandated under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Despite being issued a show cause notice and multiple reminders, the required deposit was not made. The appellant's argument that an amount was already appropriated from their bank account was considered. However, upon verification, it was revealed that the amount recovered was against other demands totaling &8377; 151.87 lakhs, and no amount was appropriated for the present appeal as the total recoverable amount was yet to be collected. Consequently, the failure to comply with the deposit requirement led to the dismissal of the appeal by the tribunal.

Issue 2: Appropriation of funds from the appellant's bank account
The appellant claimed that their bank account was attached by the department, and an amount of &8377; 36,57,904/- was deducted, which they believed fulfilled the 7.5% deposit requirement. However, the department's report highlighted that the amount recovered was related to other demands against the appellant, not specifically for the present appeal. The report indicated that the total duty involved in all cases amounted to &8377; 151.87 lakhs, with no stay for recovery in the other cases. As a result, the appropriation from the bank account did not satisfy the deposit obligation for the appeal in question.

Issue 3: Dismissal of the appellant's appeal
Based on the factual findings and verification of the appellant's claims regarding the deposit, the tribunal concluded that the appellant had indeed failed to comply with the mandatory 7.5% deposit requirement under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Consequently, the tribunal held that the appeal filed by the appellant was not maintainable due to the non-compliance with the deposit provisions, leading to the dismissal of the appeal. The decision was pronounced in court, emphasizing the importance of adhering to statutory requirements for maintaining appeals before the tribunal.