Section 56 - Interest on delayed refunds.

Interest on delayed refunds secures payment entitlement when statutory refund periods lapse, with higher rates for appellate derived claims.

Liability to pay interest on delayed tax refunds arises where a refund ordered under the GST refund provisions is not paid within sixty days of receipt of the refund application; interest runs from the day after that period until payment at rates prescribed by government notification, with a higher prescribed rate where the refund claim follows a final adjudicatory or appellate order. An appellate or judicial refund order reversing a proper officer is deemed to be an order under the primary refund provision, thereby triggering the same interest entitlement and timing rules.