Appellate authority must decide VAT appeal on merits, not dismiss for default when appellant is absent.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court noted that Rule 4-S of the Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006 allows the Appellate Board, when the appellant is absent, to decide the appeal on merits after hearing the respondent; it does not authorise dismissal for default or want of prosecution. An appellate authority empowered to dispose of an appeal must determine it on merits and cannot bypass adjudication merely because the appellant does not appear. The Court therefore treated the default dismissal as unsustainable, set aside the impugned order, and remitted the matter to the Appellate Board for fresh decision on merits after notice to both parties.

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Issues: Whether the Appellate Board, under the Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2002 and the Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006, could dismiss an appeal for want of prosecution instead of deciding it on merits when the appellant was absent.

Analysis: Rule 4-S of the Madhya Pradesh Value Added Tax Rules, 2006 permits the Appellate Board, where the appellant does not appear on the date fixed for hearing, to dispose of the appeal on merits after hearing the respondent. The provision does not confer power to dismiss the appeal for default or want of prosecution. The reasoning was reinforced by the principle that an appellate authority vested with power to dispose of an appeal is required to decide it on merits and cannot short-circuit adjudication merely because the appellant is absent. The earlier decisions relied upon held that similar appellate provisions require a merits-based determination rather than a default dismissal.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal for want of prosecution was without authority and could not be sustained. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Appellate Board for decision on merits after fresh notice to the parties.

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