Statutory pre-deposit under GST cannot be waived; taxpayer must pursue appeal with deposit and delay condonation.

No exemption from statutory pre-deposit is available to a taxpayer filing an appeal under the GST regime, and disputes over tax demand or penalty must be pursued before the appellate authority on merits. The Telangana HC therefore declined the request to dispense with pre-deposit, noting that prior payment of dues does not override the deposit requirement. It granted liberty to file the appeal with the statutory deposit and a delay condonation application, leaving the appellate authority to consider the delay sympathetically and decide the appeal in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to exemption from the statutory pre-deposit for filing an appeal under the GST regime, and whether the writ court should grant only liberty to pursue the appellate remedy with delay condonation.

Analysis: The dispute concerned an assessment order imposing tax, penalty, and interest under the GST law, while the petitioner contended that the tax dues had already been paid and that pre-deposit should be dispensed with for filing the appeal. The Court held that there is no exemption from statutory pre-deposit for a taxpayer seeking to file an appeal under the GST regime. It further observed that the correctness of the penalty and tax demand is a matter for the appellate authority on merits and cannot be used as a ground to avoid the statutory deposit. In view of the correspondence with the authorities and the expiry of limitation, the Court granted liberty to file the appeal with statutory deposit and a delay condonation application, leaving the appellate authority to consider the delay sympathetically and decide the appeal in accordance with law.

Conclusion: Exemption from pre-deposit was declined, and the petitioner was relegated to the appellate remedy with liberty to seek condonation of delay.

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