Interest on delayed central excise duty payment is a statutory consequence once duty is paid after the prescribed due date.

Interest was payable on delayed payment of central excise duty where the duty was discharged after the due date prescribed under the Central Excise Act, 1944. The delayed payment attracted interest at the statutory rate as a consequence of default in timely payment, and the impugned order was left undisturbed. The document applies the principle that interest follows automatically once duty is paid beyond the prescribed due date, without requiring any separate discretion.

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Issues: Whether interest was payable on delayed payment of central excise duty after the due date.

Analysis: The duty was paid belatedly, after the due date prescribed under Section 11AB of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Once duty is discharged after the due date, interest at the prescribed rate follows as a statutory consequence.

Conclusion: Interest was rightly payable on the delayed duty payment, and no interference with the impugned order was warranted.

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