Pre-deposit under GST appeal limited to 10% of disputed tax, not penalty or interest

Under the Uttarakhand GST Act, the appellate pre-deposit for disputed tax is limited to 10% of the disputed tax amount under section 107(6)(b), and does not extend to the aggregate demand of tax, penalty, and interest. A direction requiring a fixed deposit unrelated to that statutory formula was inconsistent with the provision, so the deposit order was modified to confine the pre-deposit to 10% of the disputed tax component.

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Issues: Whether, for an appeal under the Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax Act, the pre-deposit was to be computed at 10% of the disputed tax alone and not on the aggregate demand including penalty and interest.

Analysis: Section 107(6)(b) provides that where tax is disputed, the appellant is required to deposit 10% of the disputed tax amount before the appellate authority. The demand in question comprised tax as well as penalty and interest, but the statutory pre-deposit was linked only to the disputed tax component. On that basis, the direction to deposit a fixed sum of one crore rupees was inconsistent with the statutory formula.

Conclusion: The pre-deposit was required to be confined to 10% of the disputed tax amount, and the appellant succeeded in obtaining modification of the deposit direction.

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