Rule 57CC amounts are not duty, so the pre-deposit requirement does not apply under Section 35F.

Amounts payable under Rule 57CC were treated as not constituting duty, so the pre-deposit requirement under Section 35F did not apply. The clarification relied on a Board circular, and the earlier stay order was explained on the basis that the reference to the amount related only to the penalty imposed on the assessee, not to duty liability. On that footing, the waiver of deposit issue was treated as academic once payment was not pressed, and the stay order was clarified accordingly.

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Issues: Whether the amount payable under Rule 57CC was duty so as to attract the pre-deposit requirement under Section 35F, and whether the earlier stay order required clarification on that basis.

Analysis: The order records that the application for waiver of deposit was not pressed on the footing that the amount had been paid. The clarification issued by the Board was relied upon to state that sums payable under Rule 57CC were not duty. On that footing, Section 35F was stated to be inapplicable. The reference to the amount elsewhere in the stay order was explained as being only in the context of the penalty imposed on the assessee.

Conclusion: The sums payable under Rule 57CC were treated as not constituting duty for the purpose of Section 35F, and the stay order was clarified accordingly.

Ratio Decidendi: Amounts payable under Rule 57CC are not duty and therefore do not attract the pre-deposit requirement under Section 35F.

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