Pre-deposit under Punjab VAT law may include earlier deposits, keeping the appeal maintainable without further payment.

An amount already deposited by an assessee may be counted towards the statutory pre-deposit required for an appeal under the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005, because section 62(5) does not require the 25% deposit to be made only after demand is raised. The Tribunal's view was consistent with the Court's earlier ruling on the same question, so the pre-deposit was treated as sufficient and the appeal remained maintainable on merits. The State's objection was rejected, and no substantial question of law arose on the challenge.

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Issues: Whether the amount already deposited by the assessee could be counted towards the statutory pre-deposit required for entertaining the appeal under the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005, and whether the appeal was maintainable without any further deposit.

Analysis: The statutory requirement under section 62(5) did not insist that 25 per cent of the demand must be deposited only after the demand is raised. The amount already deposited by the assessee could be taken into account for the purpose of computing the required pre-deposit. The Tribunal's view was consistent with the earlier decision of the Court on the same question.

Conclusion: The pre-deposit already made was rightly treated as sufficient, and the appeal was maintainable on merits. The objection raised by the State was rejected.

Final Conclusion: No substantial question of law arose, and the State's challenge to the Tribunal's order failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For the purpose of section 62(5) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005, an amount already deposited before the demand is raised can be counted towards the statutory pre-deposit required for entertaining the appeal.

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