Statutory pre-deposit requirement justified dismissal where the assessee failed to deposit tax in time and could not rely on non-intimation.

A statutory pre-deposit condition required the assessee to deposit 20 per cent of the assessed tax before the appeal could proceed. Because the required deposit was not made within time, dismissal of the appeal was justified. The appellate authority was not bound to intimate the assessee about any order on the application seeking extension or waiver of time, and it remained the assessee's responsibility to ascertain whether further time had been granted. The Tribunal correctly upheld dismissal for non-compliance with the deposit requirement, and no relief was available on the ground of non-intimation.

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Issues: Whether the appeal was liable to be dismissed for failure to deposit the prescribed 20 per cent of the assessed tax, and whether the appellate authority was bound to intimate the assessee about the order on the application for extension or waiver of time.

Analysis: The appeal was subject to a statutory condition of pre-deposit. The assessee had not made the requisite deposit within time. The appellate authority was not under a duty to notify the assessee of the order, if any, passed on the application seeking time, and it remained for the assessee to ascertain whether further time had been granted. In the absence of compliance with the deposit requirement, the dismissal of the appeal was justified, and the Tribunal rightly upheld that view.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal for non-deposit was valid, and the assessee was not entitled to relief on the ground of non-intimation of the order on the time-application.

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