Appellate Tribunal pre-deposit rules clarified: excess earlier deposit may suffice, but short court fee must be paid before admission.

An appeal before the GST Appellate Tribunal requires the prescribed statutory pre-deposit in addition to the amount deposited at the first appellate stage. Where the earlier deposit exceeds the amount required on the reduced tax demand, no further pre-deposit is necessary. The prescribed court fee under Rule 110(5) is subject to a minimum of Rs. 5,000; payment of only Rs. 3,000 creates a shortfall of Rs. 2,000. The appeal cannot proceed to final admission until the Registry verifies the earlier pre-deposit and the balance court fee is paid, after which the matter may be placed before the Bench for further orders.

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Issues: (i) Whether any further statutory pre-deposit was required for admission of the appeal before the Appellate Tribunal; and (ii) whether the prescribed court fee had been paid.

Analysis: The statutory scheme requires payment of the prescribed pre-deposit for an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal in addition to the amount deposited at the first appellate stage. Since the pre-deposit already made at the first appellate stage exceeded the amount required on the reduced tax demand, no further pre-deposit was required. The prescribed fee under Rule 110(5) was calculated with a minimum of Rs. 5,000, whereas only Rs. 3,000 had been paid, leaving a shortfall of Rs. 2,000. The appellant agreed to pay the balance.

Outcome: No further statutory pre-deposit was required. The appeal was not finally admitted; the Registry was directed to verify the earlier pre-deposit and place the matter before the Bench after payment of the short court fee, and the matter was listed for further orders.

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