The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2014 was enacted on August 6,
2014. As usual, certain amendments in indirect taxes have been
made. One of the amendments, which became 'talk of the
town' is the new provision pertaining to deposit
pending appeal in the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the
Customs Act, 1962. The new section 35F of Central Excise Act
(parallel provision has been made under Section 129E of Customs
Act) has been substituted in place of earlier section. The Section
35F is reproduced hereunder:
"Section 35F: The Tribunal or the Commissioner
(Appeals), as the case may be, shall not entertain any
appeal,—
- under sub-section (1) of section
35, unless the appellant has deposited seven and a half percent of
duty, in case where duty or duty and penalty are in dispute, or
penalty, where such penalty is in dispute, in pursuance of a
decision or an order passed by an officer of Central Excise lower
in rank than the Commissioner of Central Excise;
