Pre-deposit and stay of recovery in duty dispute granted on prima facie merits, evidence issues, and financial hardship.

Pending appeal, the Tribunal examined whether pre-deposit and stay of recovery were justified on prima facie merits and financial hardship. The dispute concerned alleged removal of aluminium wires without duty on kachha challans, but the applicants argued that the records reflected job-work receipts of raw material and that the alleged production exceeded installed capacity. The Tribunal noted that the matter depended on evidence from both sides, that cross-examined witnesses did not support their earlier statements, and that the retractions of the remaining statements still required scrutiny. It accepted the pleaded hardship and treated the proposed deposit as reasonable, directing a deposit within eight weeks and staying recovery on compliance.

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Issues: Whether waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery were warranted pending appeal in view of the prima facie merits of the dispute and the financial hardship pleaded by the applicants.

Analysis: The dispute at this stage concerned alleged removal of aluminium wires without payment of duty on the basis of kachha challans, while the applicants contended that the entries represented job-work receipts of raw material and that the alleged production figures were beyond the installed capacity. The Tribunal noted that the issue turned on evidence from both sides, that the cross-examined witnesses did not support their earlier statements, and that the validity of the retractions of the remaining statements still required scrutiny. The Tribunal also took note of the applicants' financial difficulty and treated the offer of deposit as reasonable.

Conclusion: The Tribunal directed a deposit of Rs. 10 lakhs within eight weeks and, upon such deposit, waived the balance dues against M/s. Saraf Metal Works and the entire dues against Smt. Sumitra Saraf, with recovery stayed during the pendency of the appeal. Non-compliance would result in dismissal of the appeal.

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