Statutory pre-deposit under sales tax appeal provisions could not be waived or replaced by bank guarantee.

An assessment order was challengeable by appeal under section 31 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, but the appeal was not entertained because the appellant failed to comply with the statutory pre-deposit of 25% of the admitted amount. In the absence of any express power to waive that requirement, the insistence on deposit was justified, and a bank guarantee could not be accepted as a substitute for the statutory pre-deposit. The writ appeal challenging the dismissal was therefore found to have no merit and was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the writ appeal was maintainable in view of the availability of an appellate remedy under section 31 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, and whether the Court could waive the statutory pre-deposit requirement or permit a bank guarantee in its place.

Analysis: The impugned assessment order was challengeable by way of an appeal under section 31 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. The appeal had not been entertained because the appellant had not complied with the statutory requirement of depositing 25 per cent of the admitted amount. In the absence of any express provision empowering the authority to waive the deposit, the insistence on compliance was held to be justified. The Court also held that a bank guarantee could not be treated as a substitute for the statutory deposit, and that no contrary direction could be issued merely on equitable considerations.

Conclusion: The writ appeal was held to be without merit, and the challenge to the order of dismissal was rejected.

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