Interest under the Estate Duty Act requires a valid statutory order and cannot be imposed after duty is already paid.

Interest under section 70 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 could be levied only pursuant to a valid statutory order permitting postponement or instalment payment on the prescribed terms. The High Court noted that no effective order under section 70(1) existed, and the consent arrangement for instalments did not specify interest or satisfy section 70(2). As the estate duty had already been paid, there was no outstanding liability on which interest could be charged. The Court also held that section 61 rectification could not be invoked because there was no mistake apparent from the record. The demand for interest was therefore set aside.

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Issues: Whether the order levying interest could be sustained under section 70 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 when no valid order for instalment payment had been made and the duty stood substantially paid, and whether the impugned order could be justified as a rectification under section 61 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953.

Analysis: Interest under section 70 is not automatic. Section 70(1) contemplates a conscious order by the Controller allowing postponement of duty on terms including interest, while section 70(2) applies to instalment payment of immovable property duty with interest added to each instalment. On the record, there was no effective order under section 70(1), and the consent order allowing instalments did not specify interest or embody the statutory conditions of section 70(2). By the time the impugned order was made, the duty payable even after giving effect to the appellate relief had already been paid, so there was no outstanding duty on which interest could be levied. In these circumstances, there was also no mistake apparent from the record warranting rectification under section 61.

Conclusion: The order levying interest was not sustainable, and the purported rectification under section 61 failed. The impugned order was invalid.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the demand of interest was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Interest under section 70 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 can be levied only pursuant to a valid statutory order permitting postponement or instalment payment, and it cannot be imposed after the estate duty has already been paid in full or substantially so; a rectification provision cannot be used to create such liability where no mistake apparent from the record exists.

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