Pre-deposit under Punjab VAT law is directory, with waiver possible in appropriate cases; dismissal orders were set aside.

The pre-deposit requirement under section 62(5) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 is directory, and the first appellate authority may grant interim protection or waive the deposit wholly or partly in appropriate cases. On that basis, dismissal of the assessee's appeal and the Tribunal's order for non-compliance with pre-deposit could not be sustained. The orders were set aside, and the assessee's waiver application was restored for fresh consideration by the first appellate authority in accordance with the earlier ruling.

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Issues: Whether the orders dismissing the assessee's appeal for non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement under section 62(5) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 were liable to be set aside and the matter remitted for consideration of waiver of pre-deposit.

Analysis: The appeal was governed by the earlier decision holding that the pre-deposit requirement under section 62(5) is directory in nature and that the first appellate authority has the implied power to grant interim protection or waive the pre-deposit, wholly or partly, in appropriate cases. In view of that binding determination, the dismissal orders passed by the appellate authority and the Tribunal could not be sustained. The proper course was to restore the assessee's application seeking waiver of deposit and require the first appellate authority to decide it in accordance with law and the earlier ruling.

Conclusion: The dismissal orders were set aside and the matter was remitted to the first appellate authority for fresh decision on the waiver application under section 62(5) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005.

Ratio Decidendi: The pre-deposit requirement under section 62(5) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 is directory and the first appellate authority can, in appropriate cases, waive the condition wholly or partly by granting interim protection.

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