Interim stay in tax appeals: 30% deposit condition upheld, with credit for amounts already paid against assessed liability.

In tax appeals, an appellate authority may impose a stay condition requiring deposit of 30% of the disputed liability and security for the balance where the assessment was completed on best judgment after non-response to notices. That condition was not arbitrary or illegal. Any amount already paid after the assessment order must be credited, and the 30% deposit requirement applies only to the remaining balance liability.

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Issues: Whether the condition imposed by the appellate authority requiring deposit of 30% of the disputed liability and security for the balance, while considering stay in tax appeals, was arbitrary or illegal, and whether any amount already remitted pursuant to the assessment order was required to be given credit while computing the deposit condition.

Analysis: The assessment had been completed under the best judgment method after the assessee failed to file objections to the pre-assessment notice or respond to repeated notices. In that background, the appellate authority was justified in imposing a condition for interim stay. The Court also accepted the clarification that any amount paid after the assessment order must be credited and only the balance liability should be treated as the basis for the 30% deposit requirement.

Conclusion: The condition imposed for interim stay was neither arbitrary nor illegal, and the assessee was entitled only to credit for any amount already paid, with the remaining balance to be complied with as directed.

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