Difficulty in set off of amount / Section 129 / Rule 138

[Veeresham Veerabomma]

Respected Experts greetings of the day !!!

One of my clients furnished a Bond against the detention of the vehicle. Subsequent to the detention dealer furnished a BOND for the entire amount, i.e., 200% penalty. Now the dealer wants to file and appeal for the same. However, he could not set off the amount for which he furnished the Bond amount. There is no option seems in The Portal to set off the Bond amount. The portal only showing Pre-deposit of 25% amount by way ITC credit ledger or Cash. Kindly shed light on my query to enable me in smooth filing of APL - 01

AI Summary

Pre-deposit requirement: actual ITC or cash payment is mandatory; a bond cannot substitute for pre-deposit when filing an appeal.
Pre-deposit for filing a GST appeal must be actually paid by way of input tax credit or cash under Section 107(6); a bond furnished by a dealer is a promise to pay and does not qualify as the required pre-deposit. The proviso concerning Section 129 similarly requires payment of a portion of the penalty before an appeal is valid. A bond cannot be encashed by the department until appeal timelines expire and therefore cannot be set off or used in the portal in lieu of the statutory pre-deposit.