Subsisting tax exemption bars compulsory pre-deposit of assessed sales tax before statutory appeals are heard.

A subsisting industrial tax exemption can prevent the assessed sales tax from being treated as immediately recoverable for purposes of appeal. Where the exemption period had not expired and the exemption limit had not been exhausted, the authorities could not insist on pre-deposit of the assessed tax as a condition for entertaining the assessee's statutory appeals. The insistence on deposit, including partial deposit before the Tribunal, was therefore unsustainable. The impugned orders were quashed and the appellate authority was directed to hear and decide the appeals on merits without requiring tax payment.

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Issues: Whether an exempted industrial unit, whose period of exemption had not expired and the exemption limit had not been exhausted, could be compelled to deposit the assessed sales tax before its appeals were entertained.

Analysis: The record showed that the petitioner was granted exemption from sales tax and purchase tax under the relevant exemption rules and that the exemption period was still subsisting. In that situation, the assessed demand itself could not be treated as immediately recoverable for the purpose of insisting upon a pre-deposit as a condition for hearing the appeals. The authorities below failed to notice the admitted exemption status and proceeded to insist on deposit of the assessed amount, including partial deposit before the Tribunal, despite the petitioner's entitlement to exemption.

Conclusion: The requirement of pre-deposit was unsustainable and the petitioner's appeals had to be entertained without payment of any tax.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were quashed and the appellate authority was directed to hear and decide the assessee's appeals on merits without insisting on tax deposit.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessee covered by a subsisting tax exemption cannot be compelled to make a pre-deposit of the assessed tax as a condition for maintaining its statutory appeal.

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