Natural justice requires a personal hearing before pre-deposit orders affect the right of appeal in stay proceedings.

An order fixing pre-deposit and dismissing an appeal for non-deposit was held unsustainable where the assessee was not afforded a personal hearing. In waiver and stay proceedings, an effective opportunity of hearing was mandatory before passing an interim order affecting the right of appeal, and breach of natural justice vitiated the order. The order was set aside and the matter remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for de novo consideration after granting personal hearing and following the principles of natural justice.

---

---

Issues: Whether the order fixing pre-deposit without granting personal hearing was vitiated by breach of natural justice, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The appellate authority fixed the pre-deposit amount and dismissed the appeal for non-deposit without affording the assessee an opportunity of personal hearing. In the context of an application for waiver and stay, a personal hearing was held to be mandatory before passing an interim order affecting the right of appeal. The absence of such hearing rendered the impugned order unsustainable.

Conclusion: The order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for de novo consideration after following the principles of natural justice and granting an effective opportunity of personal hearing.

---