Pre-deposit as a condition for appeal upheld where the authority assessed financial incapacity and granted only partial relief.

A statutory right of appeal may be made subject to pre-deposit conditions, and under section 39(5) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, the appellate authority may waive deposit only on being satisfied that the dealer is unable to pay the assessed amount. In considering such relief, the authority is to assess financial incapacity and not the merits of the assessment. On the facts noted, the authorities considered the dealer's assets and financial position and granted only partial relief. The High Court found no legal infirmity or exceptional ground for writ interference, so complete waiver was refused and the conditional order was sustained.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority and the Tribunal were justified in insisting on pre-deposit of tax as a condition for hearing the appeal under section 39(5) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, and whether the writ court should interfere and grant complete exemption from deposit.

Analysis: The right of appeal is a creature of statute and may be subjected to conditions imposed by the Legislature. Under section 39(5), the appellate authority may entertain the appeal without deposit only if it is satisfied that the dealer is unable to pay the assessed amount, and while considering such an application it is not to examine the merits of the assessment itself. The record showed that the authorities had considered the petitioner's financial position, including the existence of closing stock and other assets, before granting partial relief. No legal infirmity was shown in the exercise of discretion by either authority, and the High Court found no exceptional ground warranting interference in writ jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The insistence on partial pre-deposit was upheld and complete waiver was refused; the petitioner's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The conditional order permitting the appeal to be heard on compliance with the deposit requirement was sustained, and the writ petition was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory appellate authority may insist on pre-deposit as a condition for entertaining the appeal, and writ interference is justified only in exceptional cases where the authority has acted on irrelevant considerations or committed a clear error of law.

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