Personal hearing required before stay or pre-deposit orders affecting an assessee; absence of hearing vitiates the order.

A stay or pre-deposit direction affecting an assessee must be passed after affording a personal hearing, as failure to do so breaches natural justice. The Tribunal treated the absence of hearing on the stay petition as fatal to the order dismissing the appeal for non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement. The impugned order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh consideration of the stay petition after hearing the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the order dismissing the appeal for non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement could be sustained when the stay order was passed and the appeal disposed of without affording the assessee a personal hearing, thereby offending natural justice.

Analysis: The order under challenge was founded on the pre-deposit requirement and the stay direction passed by the appellate authority. The record showed that the stay order had been made without granting an opportunity of personal hearing. The Tribunal treated such omission as a breach of the principles of natural justice, particularly because applications concerning pre-deposit and stay require observance of fair hearing before an adverse order is made. The Board's circular and the cited authorities reinforced the need for hearing before deciding the stay petition.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh decision on the stay petition after granting a personal hearing to the assessee. The appeal was allowed by way of remand.

Ratio Decidendi: A stay or pre-deposit order affecting an assessee cannot be sustained unless passed after affording a personal hearing in observance of natural justice.

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