Regular assessment under the Excess Profits Tax Act attracts refund interest after appellate directions are implemented.

Interest under section 14A(7) of the Excess Profits Tax Act, 1940 is payable where a refund follows an assessment made while giving effect to appellate directions, because such an order remains an assessment under section 14 and constitutes a regular assessment for the provision. The statutory scheme treats provisional assessment and regular assessment as the two relevant forms of assessment, and the language of section 14A does not exclude an assessment order passed after appellate directions from that character. References to the Income-tax Acts, 1922 and 1961 do not alter the result, as their advance-tax provisions operate under a different scheme.

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Issues: Whether interest under section 14A(7) of the Excess Profits Tax Act, 1940 is payable on a refund granted pursuant to an assessment made after giving effect to appellate directions, and whether such an assessment is a "regular assessment" for the purpose of that provision.

Analysis: Section 14A(7) links the payment of interest to the difference between tax paid on provisional assessment and tax found payable on regular assessment, with interest running from the date of payment of the excess tax to the date of refund. The expression "regular assessment" is not separately defined, but section 14A(1) uses it to distinguish assessment under section 14 from provisional assessment under section 14A. The scheme of the Act shows only two relevant forms of assessment, and nothing in the language suggests that an order passed by the Excess Profits Tax Officer while giving effect to appellate directions ceases to be an assessment under section 14. On that construction, refund granted pursuant to such an order also attracts interest under section 14A(7). The references to the Income-tax Act, 1922 and the Income-tax Act, 1961 do not alter this result, because their advance-tax provisions operate under a different statutory scheme.

Conclusion: Interest under section 14A(7) was payable on the refund granted pursuant to the order passed in consequence of appellate directions, and that order constituted a regular assessment for the purpose of the provision.

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