Statutory interest on delayed tax refund cannot be denied on mere administrative inconvenience; delay must be beyond control or dealer-linked.

Statutory simple interest becomes payable on delayed refund of a penalty amount under section 12 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 once the refund is not made within the prescribed period. The delay can be excluded only if it is shown to be beyond the assessing authority's control or attributable to the dealer. Administrative changes and inconvenience following abolition of sales tax check barriers did not satisfy that statutory threshold, and no satisfactory basis was established to exclude the delay. Interest on the refunded amount was therefore payable, and the delay period could not be excluded.

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Issues: Whether interest was payable on the delayed refund of penalty amount under section 12 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, and whether the period of delay could be excluded on the ground of administrative difficulties.

Analysis: Section 12(3) confers a right to simple interest when an amount required to be refunded is not refunded within the prescribed period. Section 12(4) permits exclusion of the delay period only if the delay is shown to be for reasons beyond the control of the assessing authority or attributable to the dealer. The respondents relied on administrative changes following abolition of the sales tax check barriers and on alleged delay by the petitioner, but no satisfactory explanation was established to bring the case within the exclusion clause. Mere administrative inconvenience does not satisfy the statutory requirement of delay beyond control.

Conclusion: Interest on the refunded amount was payable, and no period of delay was liable to be excluded.

Ratio Decidendi: Statutory interest on refund becomes payable on expiry of the prescribed period unless the authority proves that the delay was beyond its control or attributable to the dealer; administrative inconvenience by itself is insufficient to deny interest.

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