Pre-deposit as condition precedent bars late appeal admission; belated input credit cannot cure statutory non-compliance.

Timely pre-deposit of the stipulated percentage of disputed tax was treated as a condition precedent for admission of an appeal under the Andhra Pradesh VAT regime. Belated reassessment material and later certificates of excess input tax credit could not cure non-compliance because they arose after expiry of the statutory period. Binding precedent on the same pre-deposit requirement was followed, and a Supreme Court order made under Article 142 was held not to dilute that precedent for proceedings under Article 226. The writ challenge therefore could not override the statutory bar or equate equitable relief with the court's Article 142 powers.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority was justified in rejecting admission of the appeal for failure to comply with the statutory requirement of pre-deposit of 12.5% of the disputed tax within the prescribed period, and whether later certificates of excess input tax credit could be relied upon to overcome that bar.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Section 31(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act required payment of the admitted tax or 12.5% of the disputed tax within sixty days from service of the assessment order as a condition for admission of the appeal. The later reassessment material and VAT return relied upon by the petitioner were found to have arisen after expiry of that period. The earlier Division Bench ruling on the same statutory requirement was treated as binding precedent, and the High Court declined to depart from it. The Court further held that the Supreme Court order relied upon by the petitioner was made in exercise of Article 142 powers and did not dilute the binding effect of the earlier precedent for proceedings under Article 226.

Conclusion: The rejection of admission of the appeal was upheld, and the writ challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute makes timely pre-deposit of the stipulated percentage of disputed tax a condition precedent for admission of the appeal, belated adjustment claims cannot cure non-compliance, and the High Court cannot invoke equitable considerations under Article 226 to override binding precedent or replicate Article 142 powers.

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