Statutory pre-deposit is mandatory before a Tribunal appeal can be entertained; waiver discretion is excluded under the amended scheme.

An appeal before the Tribunal is not maintainable unless the appellant complies with the statutory pre-deposit requirement under section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as applied to service tax matters by section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. The amended provision, effective from 06.08.2014, requires deposit of the prescribed percentage before the appeal can be entertained and removes any discretion to waive or reduce that pre-deposit. The appellate forum cannot override the statutory condition precedent or grant waiver beyond what the statute permits, so an appeal filed without such deposit is liable to be dismissed.

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Issues: Whether an appeal before the Tribunal is maintainable without compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as made applicable to service tax matters by section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994, requires the appellant to deposit the prescribed percentage before the appeal can be entertained. The amendment brought into force on 06.08.2014 removed the discretion to waive or reduce the pre-deposit. The legal position is consistent with the settled principle that a statutory right of appeal can be exercised only on fulfilment of the condition precedent imposed by the statute, and the appellate forum cannot entertain the appeal or grant waiver beyond the statute.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable without the required pre-deposit and was rightly dismissed.

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