Pre-deposit discretion in tax appeals may consider turnover and financial position; writ interference is limited absent legal error.

Under section 73(4) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, an appellate authority may relax the usual tax-payment requirement for entertaining an appeal by waiving part of the amount, accepting a lesser pre-deposit, or taking security for recorded reasons. The Tribunal reduced the pre-deposit from 25% to 15% after considering the assessee's turnover and financial position. That interim exercise of statutory discretion was not shown to infringe any enforceable legal right, and interference in writ jurisdiction was therefore not warranted. In revenue recovery matters, Article 226 intervention is ordinarily limited absent jurisdictional error or breach of a legal right.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal's order directing deposit of 15% of the tax dues, while admitting the second appeals, called for interference under Article 226; and whether consideration of the assessee's turnover for assessing the pre-deposit condition was impermissible.

Analysis: Under section 73(4) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, an appeal against an assessment order is not ordinarily entertainable without satisfactory proof of payment of tax, though the appellate authority may, for recorded reasons, relax the requirement by waiving the tax, accepting a smaller sum, or taking security. The Tribunal had reduced the pre-deposit requirement from 25% to 15% after considering the assessee's sales and purchase figures to assess its financial position. Such a direction was an interim and discretionary order, and no enforceable legal right of the assessee was shown to have been infringed. In matters involving recovery of public revenue, interference under Article 226 is ordinarily not warranted.

Conclusion: The challenge to the Tribunal's pre-deposit condition was rejected, and no interference was called for.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the appellate authority exercises statutory discretion to fix a reduced pre-deposit on relevant financial considerations, the resulting interim order will not ordinarily be interfered with in writ jurisdiction absent breach of a legal right or jurisdictional error.

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