Prima facie exclusion from Commercial and Industrial Construction Service justified waiver of pre-deposit and remand on merits.

On a prima facie view, the appellant's contractual activity did not fall within Commercial and Industrial Construction Service, so insistence on pre-deposit was unwarranted at that stage. Because the dismissal below rested only on non-compliance with the pre-deposit direction and the merits were not examined, the matter had to be considered afresh by the first appellate authority. The pre-deposit requirement was therefore waived and the case was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits without insisting on pre-deposit.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit in view of a prima facie case, and whether the matter should be remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits without insisting on pre-deposit.

Analysis: The activity undertaken by the appellant under the contract was found, at least prima facie, not to fall under Commercial and Industrial Construction Service. The impugned dismissal had been made for non-compliance with the pre-deposit direction without examining the merits. In these circumstances, the appeal was required to be heard on merits by the first appellate authority.

Conclusion: The pre-deposit requirement was waived and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh decision on merits without insisting on pre-deposit.

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