Under Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act, 2002, an appeal to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal against an order of the Debts Recovery Tribunal cannot be entertained unless the borrower has deposited what minimum percentage of the amount of debt due, as claimed by the secured creditor or determined by the DRT, whichever is less?

The proviso to section 18(1) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 provides that no appeal shall be entertained by the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal unless the borrower has deposited twenty-five per cent of the amount of debt due from him, as claimed by the secured creditor or determined by the Debts Recovery Tribunal, whichever is less. The pre-deposit is a condition for the entertainment of the appeal and balances the borrower's right of appeal against expeditious recovery of secured debts. Fifty per cent, seventy-five per cent and ten per cent are figures drawn from other recovery frameworks or misremembered versions of the provision, and no deposit of five per cent exists. Twenty-five per cent is therefore the mandatory deposit.