Interest on refund of pre-deposit runs from filing of a complete claim with supporting documents, not later submissions.

Interest on refund of pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was held payable from the date the refund claim was filed with the necessary supporting documents. The claim was accompanied by the Tribunal order, TR-6 challans evidencing payment, and details of the bank guarantee, so the refund became due when those materials were submitted. The later filing of copies of the order-in-original and order-in-appeal did not postpone the refundable date. Interest accordingly ran from 1-11-99 and not from 26-9-2000.

---

---

Issues: Whether interest on refund of pre-deposit was payable from the date of filing the refund claim with supporting documents or from a later date when additional copies of orders were furnished.

Analysis: The claim for return of deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was accompanied by the Tribunal order, TR-6 challans evidencing payment, and details of the bank guarantee. The documents required for processing the refund were already filed on 1-11-99, and the later filing of copies of the order-in-original and order-in-appeal did not postpone the date from which the amount became refundable.

Conclusion: Interest was payable from 1-11-99, the date on which the refund claim with the necessary supporting documents was filed, and not from 26-9-2000.

---