Second appeal jurisdiction remains intact after dismissal for default, allowing review of both the default order and assessment merits.

A statutory right of second appeal under the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947 is not cut down by dismissal of the first appeal for default unless the statute expressly says so. Rule 58-A provides a separate remedy for readmission after non-appearance, but it does not limit the second appellate forum's jurisdiction. The appellate authority may therefore examine both the propriety of the default dismissal and the merits of the assessment, so the assessee is not placed in a worse position merely because the first appeal was dismissed for non-appearance.

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Issues: Whether, on a second appeal against dismissal of the first appeal for default, the appellate authority could examine only the propriety of the dismissal or could also go into the merits of the assessment.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under section 22 of the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, together with rule 53(4) of the Rules, conferred an unqualified right of second appeal from an order passed in first appeal by the Deputy Commissioner. Rule 58-A provided a separate remedy of readmission where the first appeal was dismissed for non-appearance, but that additional remedy did not curtail the substantive right of second appeal. The dismissal for default could not place the assessee in a worse position than a decision on merits, and nothing in the Act or Rules restricted the second appellate authority to examining only the validity of the default dismissal.

Conclusion: The second appellate authority was entitled to examine the merits of the assessment as well as the propriety of the dismissal for default; the issue was answered in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory right of second appeal is not curtailed by an earlier dismissal of the first appeal for default unless the statute expressly so provides, and the appellate forum may consider both the default order and the merits of the underlying assessment.

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