Pre-deposit waiver and stay applications must be decided quickly, with coercive recovery stayed until Tribunal consideration.

Pending appeals before the Tribunal with applications for waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery prompted the Court to direct expeditious disposal of those interlocutory applications. It held that coercive recovery should remain restrained until the Tribunal decided the requests for dispensation of pre-deposit and interim relief. If waiver of pre-deposit was refused, the assessee would first have to make the deposit before the Tribunal considered interim protection. The petition was thus disposed of with partial relief in favour of the assessee, limited to early consideration and interim protection against recovery.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal should be directed to expeditiously consider the applications for dispensation of pre-deposit and interim relief, and whether coercive recovery could be restrained pending such consideration.

Analysis: The writ petition arose from pending appeals before the Tribunal accompanied by applications seeking waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery. As the Tribunal was stated to be functioning but unable to take up the matters promptly because of pendency, the Court found it appropriate to secure an early hearing of the interlocutory applications. It also protected the petitioner from coercive recovery until the applications were decided. If dispensation of pre-deposit was refused, the petitioner would be obliged to make the deposit before the Tribunal considered interim relief.

Conclusion: The petition was disposed of with a direction to the Tribunal to decide the applications expeditiously and with protection against coercive steps until such disposal. The relief was thus granted in part in favour of the assessee.

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