Next working day duty payment after Sunday due date is not default, preventing withdrawal of instalment facility.

Payment of central excise duty on the next working day, where the due date fell on a Sunday and the revenue bank was closed, was not treated as default. Applying Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and the cited High Court principle, the Tribunal held that no delayed payment arose in such circumstances and the alleged third default could not be counted. As a result, withdrawal of the fortnightly instalment facility under Rule 8(1) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was not justified.

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Issues: Whether payment of central excise duty made on the next working day when the due date fell on a Sunday amounted to default, and whether such payment justified withdrawal of the fortnightly instalment facility under Rule 8(1) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: The appeal turned on whether a payment made on the first working day after the due date could be treated as delayed payment. The Tribunal followed the principle that when the due date falls on a day on which the revenue bank is closed, deposit on the next working day does not constitute default. This view was supported by Section 10 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and the cited High Court decision holding that no default occurs in such circumstances. On that basis, the alleged third default could not be counted for withdrawing the facility.

Conclusion: Payment made on the next working day after a Sunday due date did not amount to default, and the withdrawal of the fortnightly payment facility was not justified.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the prescribed due date for duty payment falls on a day when the bank is closed, payment made on the next working day is not a default for the purpose of penal or disabling consequences under the relevant duty-payment scheme.

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