Bank guarantee condition for hearing excise appeal was set aside; appeal must be heard on merits without such insistence.

An appellate authority cannot insist on a bank guarantee as a precondition for hearing an excise appeal where binding Supreme Court guidance on stay and appeal procedure is not properly applied. The Bombay HC set aside the guarantee requirement for the purpose of hearing and directed that the appeal be heard on merits without such insistence, expeditiously.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority could insist on furnishing a bank guarantee as a condition for hearing the appeal and whether the appeal should be heard on merits without such insistence.

Analysis: The petition arose from a direction requiring the assessee to furnish a bank guarantee against the demand raised by the excise authorities. The order was viewed in light of the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in a similar excise matter, and the appellate authority was found not to have applied that guidance while dealing with the request for stay and hearing of the appeal. In the circumstances, the Court directed that the appeal be considered on merits without insisting on any bank guarantee and that the hearing be taken up expeditiously.

Conclusion: The insistence on a bank guarantee was set aside for the purpose of hearing the appeal, and the appellate authority was directed to hear the appeal on merits without such requirement.

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