Interest-free grace period limited to listed mineral dues; excess royalty contract amounts fall outside the rule.

Rule 61 of the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1986 grants a 15-day interest-free grace period only for dues expressly listed in the rule, namely dead rent, royalty, quarry licence fee and royalty collection contract amounts. Because an Excess Royalty Collection Contract is separately defined and omitted from Rule 61, it cannot be included by analogy even though the contracting machinery for both arrangements is similar. The plain wording of the fiscal rule therefore limits the grace period to the categories named in it, and delayed instalments under an Excess Royalty Collection Contract attract interest without that benefit.

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Issues: Whether the 15 days' interest-free grace period under Rule 61 of the Rajasthan Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1986 applies to amounts due under an Excess Royalty Collection Contract.

Analysis: The Rules separately define a Royalty Collection Contract and an Excess Royalty Collection Contract, and the two are conceptually distinct. Though the auction, tender, and agreement machinery under Rules 32, 34, 35, and 37 treats both contracts in a similar manner, Rule 61 specifically grants an interest-free period only for dues relating to dead rent, royalty, quarry licence fee, and royalty collection contract amounts. The omission of Excess Royalty Collection Contract amounts from Rule 61 is significant, especially because the Rules were amended to refer expressly to Excess Royalty Collection Contract in other provisions but not in Rule 61. The plain wording therefore limits the 15 days' grace period to the dues expressly mentioned in that rule.

Conclusion: The 15 days' grace period under Rule 61 does not apply to Excess Royalty Collection Contract amounts, and interest was chargeable on delayed instalments without that benefit.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the language of a fiscal rule expressly identifies the categories of dues eligible for an interest-free period, a separately defined and omitted category cannot be brought within the rule by analogy or by reference to similar contractual procedure.

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