Appeal deposit under sales tax law is limited to assessed tax; interest remains a separate liability unless expressly included.

Section 17D(5) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act requires payment of the assessed tax amount as a condition for filing an appeal, and that expression does not extend to interest unless the statute expressly says so. Interest is treated as a separate liability and cannot be merged with tax payable for this pre-condition. On the facts described, the assessed tax had already been paid, so the appeal could not be treated as defective for non-payment of interest, and the defect notice was unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether, for maintaining an appeal against an assessment under Section 17D of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, the dealer was required to deposit only the tax amount or the entire arrears including interest.

Analysis: Section 17D(5) makes payment of the entire tax amount a condition for filing the appeal. The expression "tax amount" was construed as the assessed tax liability shown in the assessment order and not as including the interest component. The distinction between tax due and interest was reinforced by the legal position that interest is a separate liability and cannot be merged into the tax payable for this purpose. Since the assessed tax had already been paid and the respondents did not dispute that position, the appeal could not be treated as defective for want of payment of interest.

Conclusion: The requirement under Section 17D(5) is confined to payment of the tax amount alone. The petitioner was not bound to pay interest as a pre-condition for maintaining the appeal, and the defect notice was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, the defect notice was set aside, and the appeal was directed to be restored for consideration on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute requires deposit of the "entire tax amount" as a condition for appeal, that requirement does not extend to interest unless the provision expressly so states.

---