Pre-deposit waiver refused where compliance was not made, and the appeal was dismissed for failure to deposit the required duty amount.

Waiver of pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was refused because the direction had been passed in open court in the presence of counsel and the compliance date was also announced there. The appellants neither complied with the deposit requirement nor showed a sufficient basis to secure complete dispensation, so the Tribunal declined to modify the earlier stay order. As the mandatory pre-deposit was not made, the appeal was not entertained and was dismissed for non-compliance.

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Issues: Whether the appellants were entitled to waiver of the pre-deposit directed by the Tribunal, and whether non-compliance with that direction warranted dismissal of the appeal.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the pre-deposit direction had been passed in open court in the presence of the appellants' advocate and that the date for reporting compliance was also declared in open court. The appellants did not appear when the matter was taken up and instead sought modification of the stay order for complete dispensation of the duty deposit. On consideration of the communication and the earlier speaking order, the Tribunal found no ground to waive the pre-deposit already directed. Since the appellants failed to comply with the deposit direction, the appeal could not be entertained.

Conclusion: Waiver of pre-deposit was refused and the appeal was dismissed for non-compliance with the direction under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

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