Pre-deposit waiver and limitation scrutiny justified where prior disclosure and documents were ignored before remand.

Prior disclosure, absence of suppression and the limitation plea required examination against the correspondence already exchanged with the department, including earlier requisitions, explanations, valuation workings and approval of RT-12 returns before the show cause notice. A full pre-deposit order passed without hearing the appellants denied a fair opportunity and was therefore not justified on the material placed. Partial waiver of pre-deposit was warranted, with only the balance directed to be deposited, and the matter was remanded so the appellate authority could decide the merits after considering limitation and the documents on record.

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Issues: Whether the order demanding full pre-deposit and refusing waiver was justified despite the appellants' plea of prior disclosure, absence of suppression, and limitation, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration on merits.

Analysis: The correspondence placed on record showed that the department had earlier sought details from the appellants, received explanations and working sheets regarding valuation, and had also approved the RT-12 returns before issuing the show cause notice much later. In these circumstances, the finding of suppression had not been examined with reference to the material correspondence and the plea of limitation also required consideration. The interim order directing full pre-deposit was passed without hearing the appellants, which resulted in denial of fair opportunity. The circumstances justified partial waiver of the pre-deposit and remand so that the appellate authority could examine the merits, including limitation, on the basis of the documents produced.

Conclusion: The appellants were entitled to partial waiver of pre-deposit, the balance amount alone was required to be deposited, and the matter was remanded for decision on merits after considering the limitation plea and other relevant documents.

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