Interest on disputed trade tax turnover cannot arise where taxability was bona fide contested and never admitted.

Interest under Section 8(1) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 is confined to tax admittedly payable, meaning tax disclosed in accounts, admitted in returns, or otherwise admitted in proceedings. Where a dealer consistently disputes taxability, does not collect or show tax in the return, and contests the issue through the appellate process, the turnover cannot be treated as admitted taxable turnover for interest purposes. On these facts, the disputed unripened imli turnover remained under bona fide challenge until final adjudication, so interest was not leviable for the earlier period.

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Issues: Whether interest under Section 8(1) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 was leviable on the disputed turnover of unripened imli when the dealer had consistently contested taxability and had not admitted the turnover in return or proceedings.

Analysis: Section 8(1) fastens interest only on tax admittedly payable, that is, tax disclosed in the accounts, admitted in a return, or otherwise admitted in proceedings under the Act. The revisionist had from the outset disputed liability on unripened imli, did not collect or show tax in the return, and litigated the issue through the appellate hierarchy. The tax itself attained finality only after the High Court's decision in 2005, and the principal tax was deposited thereafter. In these circumstances, the turnover could not be treated as admitted taxable turnover and the liability could not be treated as one attracting interest from the earlier stage.

Conclusion: Interest under Section 8(1) was not payable on the disputed turnover, and the revisionist succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Interest under a provision limited to tax admittedly payable cannot be imposed where the taxability was under a bona fide dispute and the turnover was not admitted by the dealer until final adjudication.

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