Strict construction of pre-deposit rules limits assessed-tax deposit only to admitted liability under the appeal provision.

A strict construction of section 9(1-B)(b) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act treats the pre-deposit requirement as tied to admitted liability in the returns or at any stage in the proceedings. Where an assessee filed no return and admitted no tax liability, the clause does not independently require deposit of 20 per cent of the assessed tax as a condition for entertaining the appeal. The provision's "whichever is greater" language operates only within the admitted-liability formula and does not create a separate obligation in the absence of any admission.

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Issues: Whether, under section 9(1-B)(b) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, an assessee who filed no return and admitted no tax liability at any stage was required to deposit 20 per cent of the assessed tax before his appeal could be entertained.

Analysis: Clause (b) of section 9(1-B) applies where some returns have not been filed or no return has been filed, and it requires deposit of the amount of tax admitted in the returns, if any, or at any stage in the proceedings, or 20 per cent of the assessed tax, whichever is greater. The expression "whichever is greater" has to be read with reference to the admitted liability contemplated by the clause, and not as an independent command to deposit 20 per cent where no admission exists at all. A strict construction of the fiscal provision, together with the legislative history of section 9, showed that the pre-condition for entertainment of appeal was linked to admitted liability, and where none was admitted the requirement of depositing 20 per cent of the assessed tax did not arise.

Conclusion: The assessee was not required to deposit 20 per cent of the assessed tax for entertainment of the appeal, and the revision succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A pre-deposit condition in a fiscal appeal provision must be strictly construed, and where the statutory formula ties deposit to the amount admitted by the assessee, the assessed-tax percentage cannot be demanded in the absence of any admitted liability.

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