No exemption from the statutory pre-deposit is available when...

No exemption from the statutory pre-deposit is available when filing a GST appeal merely because tax was paid during adjudication or because penalty is disputed. Whether the tax or penalty was correctly imposed, including the effect of payment made during adjudication on penalty liability, is a merits issue for the appellate authority and cannot by itself justify dispensing with the mandatory deposit. The writ petition was disposed of on that footing, leaving the taxpayer to pursue the appeal only with the prescribed pre-deposit.