Restoration after dismissal for default requires clear notice of hearing and a liberal view of sufficient cause.

Proper communication of the hearing date is required under the Tribunal procedure rules, and a dismissal for non-appearance cannot stand where the record does not clearly show that notice of the next date was duly conveyed by notice or authorised endorsement. Rule 20 permits restoration on sufficient cause, and that expression must be construed liberally and in a justice-oriented manner rather than pedantically. On the facts noted, the restoration application ought to have been allowed, and the Tribunal's refusal was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the restoration application before the Tribunal ought to have been allowed after dismissal of the appeal for default, in view of the manner in which the hearing date was communicated and the existence of sufficient cause for non-appearance.

Analysis: Rule 18 of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1982 requires notification of the date and place of hearing. The Court found that the record did not satisfactorily show that the next date of hearing was properly communicated either by notice or by endorsement of the date by an authorised person, while the interim order also did not clearly reflect the hearing date. In these circumstances, the dismissal for non-appearance could not be treated as immune from restoration. Rule 20 of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1982 permits restoration where sufficient cause is shown, and the expression "sufficient cause" must receive a liberal and justice-oriented construction rather than a pedantic one.

Conclusion: The restoration application should have been allowed, and the Tribunal's refusal was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where proper notice of the hearing date is not clearly established and non-appearance is explained by sufficient cause, the appellate forum should adopt a liberal and justice-oriented approach and restore the appeal.

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