Pre-deposit waiver in customs appeal limited by absence of prima facie case, with conditional stay granted

In a request for waiver of pre-deposit pending appeal, the Tribunal held that no complete waiver was justified because the applicants had earlier been denied the exemption benefit on similar facts and no interim relief had been granted in the related special leave proceedings. It therefore found that a prima facie case for full dispensation was not made out. The Tribunal nevertheless granted conditional relief by directing a part-deposit of the duty demand and staying recovery of the balance duty and the entire penalty during the appeal, subject to compliance with the deposit direction.

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Issues: Whether the applicants had made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit of duty and penalty pending appeal.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the applicants had earlier been denied the benefit of the exemption notification on similar facts. It also noticed that although special leave had been granted against that order, no interim relief had been granted. On that basis, the Tribunal held that the applicants had not established a prima facie case for complete waiver. At the same time, it considered it appropriate to grant conditional relief by directing a part-deposit of the duty demand and staying recovery of the balance duty and entire penalty during the pendency of the appeal.

Conclusion: The prayer for full waiver of pre-deposit was rejected, but conditional relief was granted by requiring a deposit of Rs. 25 lakhs and staying recovery of the remaining duty and penalty on compliance.

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