Vested appellate rights protect pending penalty proceedings from later pre-deposit conditions unless legislation clearly requires retrospective application.

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....A vested right of appeal attaches when original adjudicatory proceedings commence, including the conditions for access to the appellate forum. The notes explain that a subsequently introduced, onerous pre-deposit requirement cannot apply to pending proceedings unless the amendment expressly or necessarily provides for retrospective operation. Where a show-cause notice imposing personal penalty liability preceded substitution of the proviso to section 107(6), the earlier appellate regime governs. The substituted requirement to deposit ten per cent of disputed penalties therefore does not apply to penalty-only appeals arising from that notice, although any admitted amount remains payable. The Appellate Authority has no inherent power to waive an otherwise applicable statutory pre-deposit.....