Mandatory pre-deposit bars customs appeal unless the statutory deposit condition is fully satisfied.

The amended section 129E of the Customs Act makes the prescribed pre-deposit a condition precedent for entertaining an appeal. The Tribunal has no power to waive or reduce that mandatory deposit beyond what the statute permits, and binding precedent confirms that an appeal cannot proceed in breach of this requirement. The appeal was therefore not maintainable without compliance with the statutory pre-deposit, and refusal to entertain it was justified.

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Issues: Whether the appeal was maintainable despite non-compliance with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement under section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The statutory scheme after the 06.08.2014 amendment makes deposit of the prescribed percentage of duty or penalty a condition precedent to the entertainment of an appeal. The Tribunal has no power to waive or reduce the pre-deposit beyond what the statute permits. The order relied on the plain language of the provision and on binding precedent holding that courts and tribunals cannot allow an appeal to proceed in violation of the mandatory deposit requirement.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable without compliance with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement, and the refusal to entertain it was justified.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute makes pre-deposit mandatory as a condition precedent for entertaining an appeal, the appellate authority has no power to waive that requirement and the appeal cannot be entertained until the condition is satisfied.

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