Pre-deposit waiver requires brief, substantive reasons; vague stay pleas and no financial hardship were insufficient.

A waiver of pre-deposit under the CEGAT procedure requires the applicant to state brief reasons and support the request with substantive grounds on merits. Vague assertions of a prima facie case, bare reliance on earlier decisions, and failure to plead financial hardship are insufficient to justify dispensing with deposit. Where the application does not disclose any concrete basis for stay, the procedural rules do not permit waiver of the entire amount, and deposit remains required.

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Issues: Whether the applicant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit of duty and penalty under the procedural rules governing stay applications.

Analysis: The application for waiver was unsupported by any substantive grounds on merits and did not indicate brief reasons as required. Rule 28A(3) of the CEGAT (Procedure) Rules requires the applicant to state reasons in brief for seeking waiver of deposit. The application contained only vague assertions of a prima facie case and cited prior decisions without any supporting basis. Financial hardship was not pleaded. In these circumstances, no basis was made out for dispensing with deposit of the entire amount.

Conclusion: The request for waiver of pre-deposit was rejected and the entire amount was required to be deposited.

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