Prima facie payment of entry tax can justify interim stay of balance pre-deposit pending appeal.

Interim stay of the remaining pre-deposit in an entry tax appeal should not be decided on financial capacity alone where prima facie material shows the tax may already have been realised and deposited by GAIL. The court treated the documentary record, including the statutory scheme for entry tax and form E and the departmental circular, as relevant to the stay request. On that basis, prima facie case and supporting documents justified protection against recovery of the balance 20 per cent, subject to adequate security other than cash or bank guarantee, and the appeal was to be heard expeditiously.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to stay of the remaining 20 per cent pre-deposit pending appeal in view of the prima facie material showing that entry tax had already been realised and deposited by GAIL, and whether the appellate authority had to consider the merits of the stay request on that basis rather than on financial capacity alone.

Analysis: The revision arose from an interim order directing only 80 per cent stay of the disputed amount, leaving 20 per cent to be deposited. The record indicated that GAIL had realised and deposited the entry tax, and the assessee also relied on a departmental circular and the statutory scheme governing entry tax and form E. In such circumstances, the existence of a prima facie case and the documentary material supporting the assessee's stand were relevant to the stay decision. Financial capacity by itself was not treated as the sole factor where the disputed tax was shown, prima facie, to be not payable or already paid.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to interim protection against recovery of the balance 20 per cent, subject to furnishing adequate security other than cash or bank guarantee, and the appeal was directed to be decided expeditiously.

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