Refund of wrongly collected sales tax interest follows binding precedent on materially similar provisions and requires repayment with interest.

Where the Haryana General Sales Tax Act provisions were materially analogous to those already considered in binding Constitution Bench precedent, the levy and collection of interest under those provisions could not be sustained. Applying that precedent, the Court treated the challenged interest recovery as unsupportable and directed refund to the assessees. The amounts collected as interest were to be returned, with interest at 12% per annum from the date of actual recovery until refund, within the stipulated time.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to refund of the interest levied and collected under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act and the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 in view of the earlier Constitution Bench decision.

Analysis: The Court treated the relevant provisions of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 as analogous to those considered in the Constitution Bench ruling and applied that decision as governing the present matter. On that basis, the levy and collection of interest from the petitioners could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to refund of the interest collected, with interest at 12% per annum from the date of actual recovery till refund, and the issue was decided in favour of the assessees.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the amounts collected as interest were directed to be returned within the stipulated time.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the relevant sales tax provisions are materially analogous to provisions already declared unsustainable in binding precedent, the consequent levy and collection of interest under those provisions cannot be retained and must be refunded.

---