Pre-deposit cannot be imposed in VAT revision proceedings unless the revisional provision expressly requires it.

The Gujarat HC held that Section 75 of the Gujarat VAT Act does not authorise a pre-deposit condition for entertaining revision applications. The statutory pre-deposit requirement is confined to appeals under Section 73(4), and it cannot be imported into revision proceedings by analogy. Reading Sections 73, 74 and 75 together, the Court found a clear legislative distinction between appeal and revision, so the Tribunal's insistence on pre-deposit lacked authority of law. The orders rejecting the revisions for non-compliance were quashed and the revision applications restored for decision in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal could insist upon pre-deposit as a condition for entertaining a revision application under Section 75 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, and reject the revisions for non-compliance.

Analysis: Section 75 governs revisionary proceedings and, on its plain terms, does not provide for any pre-deposit condition for entertaining a revision. The pre-deposit requirement is expressly found in Section 73(4) in relation to appeals, and that requirement cannot be imported into revision proceedings by analogy. Reading Sections 73, 74 and 75 together, the statutory scheme shows a clear distinction between appeal and revision, and the Tribunal could not extend the appeal-related pre-deposit requirement to revisions.

Conclusion: The insistence on pre-deposit in the revision proceedings was without authority of law and the rejection of the revisions for non-compliance was unsustainable; the petitioner succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were quashed, and the revision applications were restored to the Tribunal for decision in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A condition of pre-deposit applicable to appeals cannot be read into revisional proceedings unless the revisional provision expressly so provides.

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