Pre-deposit waiver under U.P. Sales Tax Act requires special and adequate reasons; vague hardship claims are insufficient.

The proviso to section 10(4) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act permits waiver or relaxation of the one-third pre-deposit for stay of recovery only on special and adequate reasons. A bare assertion of heavy losses and closure of an engineering unit, unsupported by material particulars such as turnover or the outstanding tax position, was held insufficient to require waiver. On that material, refusal to exercise the discretion in the taxpayer's favour disclosed no jurisdictional error, and no interference under Article 226 was warranted.

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Issues: Whether the revising authority was bound to waive the requirement of deposit of one-third of the disputed tax while considering stay of recovery, and whether interference was warranted under Article 226.

Analysis: Under the proviso to section 10(4) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, waiver or relaxation of the requirement of depositing one-third of the disputed tax could be granted only for special and adequate reasons. The petitioner's affidavit before the revising authority contained only a bald assertion of heavy losses and closure of the engineering unit, without disclosing material particulars such as net turnover or the amount of outstanding tax. On that material, refusal to exercise the discretion in the petitioner's favour did not disclose any jurisdictional error.

Conclusion: The revising authority's refusal to waive the deposit requirement was upheld, and no ground for interference under Article 226 was made out.

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