Pre-deposit as a condition for appeal held valid where the right of appeal is statutory and conditional.

The second proviso to section 19(1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, requiring a pre-deposit of 12.5% of the disputed tax as a condition for admission of appeal, was upheld as constitutionally valid. The court reasoned that the right of appeal is statutory, not fundamental, and the Legislature may attach conditions to its exercise. The pre-deposit requirement was treated as an integral part of the appellate mechanism and not as an unconstitutional restriction on the remedy.

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Issues: Whether the second proviso to section 19(1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, requiring deposit of 121/2 per cent of the disputed tax as a pre-condition for admission of appeal, is constitutionally valid.

Analysis: The right of appeal is not a fundamental right but a statutory creation, and the Legislature is competent to attach conditions for its exercise. A pre-deposit requirement for entertaining an appeal does not, by itself, render the appellate remedy unconstitutional. The proviso operates as an integral part of the appeal provision and merely prescribes the condition precedent for admission of the appeal.

Conclusion: The proviso was upheld as a valid legislative provision and was held not to suffer from any constitutional infirmity.

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