Pre-deposit discretion under Gujarat VAT law upheld where Tribunal imposed a modest deposit and found no arbitrariness.

The Tribunal's power to entertain a second appeal without pre-deposit under section 73(4) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act is discretionary and must be exercised on recorded reasons, not as a matter of right. A condition requiring a comparatively small pre-deposit against a much larger assessed liability was upheld where the assessee had not produced documentary evidence before the assessing or first appellate authority. The discretion was found to be judicially exercised, with no arbitrariness or illegality in refusing to waive the deposit, so interference with the Tribunal's order was not warranted.

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Issues: Whether interference was warranted with the Tribunal's order directing pre-deposit as a condition for entertaining the second appeals and dismissing the appeals for non-compliance.

Analysis: The Tribunal had directed a pre-deposit of a comparatively small amount against a very large assessed liability. Section 73(4) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 permits an appeal to be entertained without payment only where the Tribunal, for recorded reasons, exercises discretion to do so. Such discretion is not a matter of right and must be exercised judiciously. On the facts, the petitioner had not produced documentary evidence before the assessing authority or the first appellate authority, and the amount directed to be deposited was modest compared with the total demand.

Conclusion: No arbitrariness or illegality was found in the Tribunal's exercise of discretion. Interference was not warranted and the petition failed.

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