Mandatory interest liability survives special asset-distribution rules; notified persons remain liable unless the taxing law grants waiver.

Mandatory interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C of the Income-tax Act remains chargeable to a notified person under the Special Court (Trial of Offences relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, because the Special Court Act regulates only the custody, priority and distribution of attached assets and does not alter liability to statutory interest. The expression "tax" in section 11(2)(a) does not include interest, section 11(2)(c) concerns the Special Court's discretion over payment from surplus funds, and the overriding clause in section 13 does not displace the interest provisions of the Income-tax Act. Relief, if any, lies in the waiver or reduction mechanism under the taxing law.

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Issues: Whether interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be levied on a notified person under the Special Court (Trial of Offences relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992, and whether the Special Court Act displaced the levy.

Analysis: The levy of interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C is mandatory under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Special Court Act does not contain any provision governing the determination of liability to such interest under the Income-tax Act; it only regulates the manner and priority of payment out of attached assets. The expression "tax" in section 11(2)(a) of the Special Court Act does not include interest, and section 11(2)(c) concerns only the Special Court's discretion regarding payment from surplus funds. The overriding clause in section 13 of the Special Court Act operates only where the Act is applicable, and it does not exclude the statutory liability to interest under the Income-tax Act. The notified person is not without remedy because the Central Board of Direct Taxes has empowered the Chief Commissioner to reduce or waive such interest in appropriate cases.

Conclusion: Interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C is chargeable to a notified person under the Special Court Act, and the questions of law were answered in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: A special statute governing attached assets does not, by itself, extinguish or suspend mandatory interest liability under the Income-tax Act unless it expressly provides otherwise; the remedy lies in the statutory waiver mechanism under the taxing law.

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