Procedural defect in filing certified copy cannot justify dismissal when appeal was entertained without objection and merits remain to be heard.

An appeal under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act should not be dismissed solely for failure to file a certified copy of the assessment order where a photostat copy was filed, the appeal was admitted and registered without objection, and a hearing date had already been fixed. The omission was procedural, and the appellant should first have been given an opportunity to cure the defect and be heard. On those facts, dismissal on that ground was unsustainable. The revision succeeded, the Tribunal's order was quashed, and the appeal was remitted for fresh decision on merits after hearing the parties.

---

---

Issues: Whether an appeal under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act could be dismissed for want of a certified copy of the assessment order when a photostat copy was filed and no objection was raised at the time of registration.

Analysis: The appeal had been admitted and registered without objection, and a hearing date had also been fixed. The defect complained of was procedural, and the assessee had filed the photostat copy of the order received from the assessing authority. In these circumstances, the failure to file a certified copy at the initial stage should not have led to dismissal without first affording an opportunity to cure the defect or to be heard.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal on that ground was unsustainable and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded, the Tribunal's order was quashed, and the appeal was remitted for fresh decision on merits after hearing the parties.

Ratio Decidendi: A procedural omission in filing a certified copy of the impugned order, when a copy of the order is otherwise filed and the appeal is entertained without immediate objection, should not by itself justify dismissal without an opportunity to cure the defect and be heard.

---