Pre-deposit compliance treated as satisfied by prior tax and interest payment, with remand for merits without further deposit.

Service tax and interest already deposited were treated as sufficient compliance with the statutory pre-deposit requirement, so no further deposit was insisted upon. The Commissioner (Appeals) had dismissed the appeal for failure to comply with a stay order requiring deposit of part of the penalty, but the appellants contended that the amounts already paid satisfied section 35F. As the Department raised no objection, the deposited sum was accepted as adequate for pre-deposit purposes, the additional requirement was waived, and the matter was remanded for decision on merits without insisting on further payment.

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Issues: Whether the amount of service tax and interest already deposited could be treated as sufficient compliance with the pre-deposit requirement, and whether the matter should be remanded for decision on merits without insisting on further deposit.

Analysis: The appeal arose from dismissal by the Commissioner (Appeals) for non-compliance with the stay order requiring deposit of 25% of the penalties within two weeks. The appellants sought treatment of the service tax and interest already paid as sufficient compliance under section 35F, and requested remand for a fresh decision on merits. The Department did not object. In these circumstances, the deposited amount was treated as sufficient for the purposes of pre-deposit.

Conclusion: The requirement of further pre-deposit was waived for this purpose, and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) to decide the appeal on merits without insisting on any additional amount.

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