Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act deals with appeals to the Appellate Tribunal. Which is the Appellate Tribunal for appeals under the SARFAESI Act?

Section 2(1)(a) of the SARFAESI Act defines 'Appellate Tribunal' as the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) established under sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993. Appeals from orders of the DRT under Section 17 lie before the DRAT under Section 18 of SARFAESI. Section 18 also provides that no appeal shall be entertained unless the borrower has deposited 50% of the debt due from him as per the secured creditor's claim, though the DRAT may reduce this amount to not less than 25%. This pre-deposit requirement is a significant hurdle for borrowers in challenging bank enforcement actions.