Interim stay in tax appeal upheld as Asian Resurfacing was held inapplicable to quasi-judicial tax proceedings.

The Gujarat HC held that the Supreme Court's directions in Asian Resurfacing, issued in the context of civil and criminal trials, could not be automatically applied to a pending tax appeal. It found that the Revenue had misread that decision and had shown no material ground to disturb the interim stay already operating in favour of the assessee. The request to vacate the interim relief was therefore rejected and the stay was maintained.

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Issues: (i) Whether the interim stay granted in the pending tax appeal deserved to be vacated on the basis of the Supreme Court's decision in Asian Resurfacing.

Analysis: The application proceeded on the assumption that the Supreme Court's directions governing stay in civil and criminal trials automatically applied to a tax appeal. The Court held that those observations arose in a different context and could not be transplanted into quasi-judicial tax appellate proceedings. It found that the Revenue had misread the Supreme Court decision and that no material reason had been shown to disturb the stay already operating in favour of the assessee.

Conclusion: The request to vacate the interim relief was rejected, and the stay in favour of the assessee was maintained.

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