AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (5) TMI 639
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.... 2. The first respondent visited with the following order of the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, Tambaram Division, dated 18-4-2007, "(1) I demand Rs. 4,82,153/-, being the amount paid short (BED Rs. 4,75,847/- and Ed. Cess Rs. 6,306/-) during the month of August and September, 2005 under Section 11A of Central Excise Act, 1944, read with Rule 8 of Central Excise Rules, 2002 and Rule 14 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. (2) I demand interest under Section 11AB of Central Excise Act, 1944 read with Rule 14 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. (3) I impose a penalty of Rs. 2,000/- under Rule 25 of Central Excise Rules, 2002." The above order was taken on appeal before....
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....ation to him of such decision or order. Section 35F of the Act reads as under :- "35F. Deposit, pending appeal of duty demanded or penalty levied. - Where in any appeal under this chapter, the decision or order appealed against relates to any duty demanded in respect of goods which are not under the control of central excise authorities or any penalty levied under this Act, the person desirous of appealing against such decision or order shall, pending the appeal, deposit with the adjudicating authority the duty demanded or the penalty levied : Provided that where in any particular case, the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal is of opinion that the deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied would cause undue hardship....
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....n 35, the pre-deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied is mandatory subject to the orders that may be passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) in exercise of the powers conferred under the first proviso to Section 35F. Even while dispensing with the application for waiver, the Commissioner (Appeals) is empowered to impose conditions, which he deems fit to impose so as to safeguard the interests of the Revenue. 6. In that view of the matter, in the event an order is passed by the Assessing Officer demanding duty or penalty, the assessee, while questioning the said order, should make a pre-deposit as a condition precedent for filing the appeal. In the event if any difficulty is experienced by the assessee for such pre-deposit, the asses....
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....r appeal to the Tribunal was made. In our opinion, the said judgment on the above set of facts is not applicable to the facts of the present case. 9. In the present case, the fact remains that the respondent/assessee has not filed any application for waiver at all at the time when the appeal was filed before the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals). In such event, the respondent/assessee could maintain the appeal only after the pre-deposit. The Commissioner (Appeals) should not have taken the appeal when the assessee has not made pre-deposit. All the more, the Commissioner (Appeals) has not taken notice of the fact that the assessee has not even filed an application seeking for waiver of pre-deposit so as to enable him to consid....
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....ere a statute is penal in character, it must be strictly construed and followed." Again in Kunwar Pal Singh v. State of U.P., (2007) 5 SCC 85, the Apex Court observed that the principle is well settled that where any statutory provision provides a particular manner for doing a particular act, then, that thing or act must be done in accordance with the manner prescribed therefor in the Act. 11. In view of the above settled proposition, the question of law raised in this appeal is to be answered in favour of the Revenue and it is, accordingly, answered. 12. Though we have found that pre-deposit is a condition precedent for filing an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) and the filing of application for waiver of such de....