Refund interest under repealed trade tax law cannot be claimed under later VAT regime absent express statutory basis.

A refund claim arising under the repealed U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 could not be converted into a claim for interest under the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008. Section 81 of the VAT Act, read with section 6 of the U.P. General Clauses Act, 1904, preserved accrued rights and pending proceedings, but did not create a fresh entitlement to interest for refunds originating under the repealed regime. Section 40 of the VAT Act was confined to excess payments made under that Act itself. The interest claim was therefore rejected as outside the statutory framework governing the original refund.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to interest on the refund of trade tax claimed under the repealed trade tax regime, and whether section 40 of the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008 could be invoked for such interest after repeal of the earlier enactment.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from a regime governed by section 29 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, which stood repealed by the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008. The saving provision in section 81 of the VAT Act, read with section 6 of the Uttar Pradesh General Clauses Act, 1904, preserved accrued rights and pending proceedings, but did not create a fresh statutory right to claim interest under the VAT Act for a refund arising under the repealed enactment. Section 40 of the VAT Act applies to refunds of amounts paid in excess under that Act, and its interest provision operates only within that statutory scheme. The Court also noted that the petitioner had not sought such interest in the earlier round of litigation and that the claim was inconsistent with the statutory framework governing the original rebate dispute.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to interest under the VAT Act on the refund of trade tax arising under the repealed enactment, and the claim for interest was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions failed on the principal question of law, as the subsequent VAT regime did not furnish a statutory basis for interest on a refund traceable to the repealed trade tax law.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim arising under a repealed taxing statute cannot be converted into a claim for interest under a later enactment unless the later statute expressly applies to that refund or preserves such interest entitlement.

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