Statutory interest on delayed entry tax payment is recoverable even without an express assessment order direction.

Interest on delayed entry tax payment was recoverable by operation of the statutory scheme, because Section 13 of the U.P. Entry Tax Act applied Sections 31 and 33 of the U.P. VAT Act mutatis mutandis and those provisions made interest payable from the due date when tax remained unpaid. The absence of an express direction for interest in the assessment order did not extinguish the liability, as the charge arose automatically under the statute. Since part of the assessed tax was paid after a delay, interest followed on the delayed amount.

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Issues: Whether interest on delayed payment of entry tax was recoverable even though the assessment order did not expressly direct payment of interest.

Analysis: The dispute concerned entry tax under the U.P. Tax on Entry of Goods Into Local Areas Act, 2007, with Section 13 making Sections 31 and 33 of the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008 applicable mutatis mutandis. The statutory scheme provided that tax and the interest payable on delayed payment arise by operation of law when the amount is not deposited within the prescribed time. Section 33 of the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008 treated interest as payable on unpaid tax from the relevant due date, and the absence of an express direction in the assessment order did not defeat the statutory charge. The petitioner had deposited part of the assessed entry tax after a delay of about 15 months, so the liability to interest followed the statute itself.

Conclusion: Interest on the delayed payment of entry tax was recoverable notwithstanding the omission of an express direction in the assessment order, and the challenge to the demand failed.

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