Deposit requirement for sales tax appeals held to govern admission, not filing, and later payment cured the defect.

Deposit under section 38(3) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 was treated as a condition precedent for admission of the first or second appeal, not for filing the memorandum of appeal itself. Rule 57(2)(ii), requiring a challan to accompany the appeal, was held subordinate to the statute and incapable of enlarging the substantive requirement. Payment made before disposal satisfied the statutory condition, so the appeal could not be rejected merely because proof of deposit was not filed with the memorandum.

---

---

Issues: Whether deposit of the amount required under section 38(3) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 was a condition precedent for admission of the appeal and whether the appeal could be rejected for want of accompanying proof of such deposit.

Analysis: The requirement under section 38(3) was held to be a condition precedent only for admission of the first appeal or second appeal and not for the act of filing the appeal. Rule 57(2)(ii), which contemplates production of a challan with the memorandum of appeal, was treated as subordinate to the statutory provision and could not enlarge or alter the substantive requirement. The payment made before disposal of the appeal satisfied the statutory condition, and the appeal was not liable to be dismissed on the ground that the memorandum was not originally accompanied by proof of deposit.

Conclusion: The issue was answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue; the appeal could not be dismissed for the alleged non-compliance with the deposit requirement.

---