One of the conditions for seeking the benefit under the Amnesty scheme is that there should be no pending proceeding and in order to comply with that condition, the appellant had withdrawn his appeal then pending before the appellate authority. But there is no bar as such for seeking restoration of the appeal if the assessee is unsuccessful in availing the benefit under the Amnesty Scheme, since the appeal being a statutory remedy the appellant had availed of such a statutory remedy and withdrawn the same only as a pre-condition for availing the benefit under the Amnesty Scheme. Since the appellant did not avail such a benefit he was entitled to be heard in the appeal on merits. Therefore he sought permission for restoration of the appeal by filing such an application. We find that the appellate authority as well as the High Court ought to have permitted the appellant herein to seek restoration of his appeal before the appellate authority so that the same could have been heard on merits.

Afterall, the appellate authority was seized of the appeal which was in the nature of a statutory appeal and if the appellant was unsuccessful therein he had further remedies in law. In view of the application filed by the appellant being rejected, neither the appeal has been restored nor has he been heard on merits and further remedies have also been foreclosed. On that short ground alone, the orders of the High Court as well as the appellate authority on the application filed by the appellant herein are set aside. The appeal before the which was pending before the Joint Commissioner of Appeals is restored on the file of the said authority.

Source: Live Law