Vested right of appeal survives repeal, and the original pre-deposit condition continues to govern pending tax appeals.

A vested right of appeal accrued when the lis commenced under the repealed sales tax law, and in the absence of express or implied retrospective effect in the new VAT regime, that right remained governed by the old statute. The court applied the saving principle under the General Clauses Act and held that the pre-deposit condition attached to the appellate remedy also survived repeal. Pending appeals were therefore to be transferred and disposed of under the repealed law, not under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

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Issues: Whether the right of appeal against an assessment made under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 was to be governed by the repealed Act or by the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, and whether the pre-deposit condition under section 39(5) of the repealed Act continued to apply to pending appeals after repeal.

Analysis: The statutory scheme showed that the earlier Act required payment of assessed tax, penalty and interest before an appeal could be entertained, subject to limited exemption, whereas the new Act prescribed a different appellate condition. Section 61(2) of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 provided only for transfer and disposal of pending proceedings by the corresponding authorities and did not expressly or by necessary implication give the new Act retrospective effect. In the absence of such retrospective intention, the saving principle under section 4 of the Punjab General Clauses Act, 1898 preserved rights and liabilities accrued under the repealed law. The Court applied the principle that the right of appeal is a vested substantive right accruing when the lis commences, and held that in taxation matters the lis commenced under the old Act when the return was filed or was required to be filed. Accordingly, the appellate right, together with the pre-deposit condition attached to it, remained governed by the repealed Act.

Conclusion: The appeal was held to be governed by section 39(5) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 and not by the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, and the challenge to the appellate order failed, in favour of the Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The repeal of the old sales tax law did not displace the vested appellate right or the statutory pre-condition attached to it, so the writ petitions could not succeed.

Ratio Decidendi: Unless the repealing statute expressly or by necessary implication provides otherwise, a vested right of appeal arising on commencement of lis remains governed by the law then in force, including any conditions attached to that right.

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