Prima facie case justified waiver of penalty pre-deposit and stay of recovery pending appeal.

On the language of Notification No. 76/65 and the material before the Tribunal, the appellant was found to have established a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit of penalty. As no material was produced to show that the seized silver was silver first exported to Nepal from countries other than India, insistence on pre-deposit was not warranted at that stage. The Tribunal therefore dispensed with the pre-deposit requirement and stayed recovery during pendency of the appeal.

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Issues: Whether the appellant had made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit of penalty and stay of recovery pending appeal.

Analysis: The order proceeded on the language of Notification No. 76/65 and on the record before the Tribunal. Since no material had been produced to show that the silver seized was silver first exported to Nepal from countries other than India, the Tribunal found that the appellant had established a prima facie case. In these circumstances, insistence on pre-deposit was not warranted at that stage.

Conclusion: The requirement of pre-deposit of penalty was dispensed with and recovery was stayed during pendency of the appeal.

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