Delayed tax refund interest accrues after ninety days despite departmental objections and verification delays.

Interest on delayed refund under section 14-C of the Orissa Sales Tax Act accrues once a dealer's refund application is received and the refund is not made within ninety days. Internal verification, departmental delay, or objections about alleged defects in the application do not postpone or defeat the statutory interest obligation where the refund claim is otherwise maintainable. Payments made at other circles and check-posts, already credited in assessment, were treated as accepted proof of payment, so no further proof was required for the refund claim. The dealer was therefore entitled to interest at the statutory rate from the expiry of ninety days after receipt of the application until actual refund.

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Issues: Whether the dealer was entitled to interest on the delayed refund under section 14-C of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, and whether objections regarding defect in the refund application and proof of payment at check-posts could defeat that entitlement.

Analysis: Section 14 of the Act requires refund of excess tax to a dealer applying in the prescribed manner, and section 14-C makes interest payable if the refund is not made within ninety days from receipt of the application. The statutory scheme does not permit postponement or waiver of interest on account of internal verification or departmental delay once the conditions for refund are satisfied. The payments made at other circles and check-posts had already been credited in assessment, and the receipts were treated as accepted proof of payment; no further evidence was required for deciding the refund claim. The allegation of defect in the application was not supported by particulars, and any delay in pointing out or curing such defect within the statutory period could not be used to deny interest.

Conclusion: The dealer was entitled to interest on the refundable amount at the statutory rates from the expiry of ninety days after receipt of the refund application until the date of actual refund.

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