Fly Ash Brick Producers Win Partial Refund Victory, Court Mandates Transparent Calculation and Swift Resolution Under Rule 21

HC of Orissa addressed a writ petition challenging refund calculation for fly ash brick production. Court issued notice to parties and directed interim refund of Rs. 1,71,824.20, emphasizing expeditious resolution within four months. The case centered on conflicting reports regarding cement usage and refund computation, with court seeking further clarification on the matter.

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Issues involved: Determination of refund amount based on calculation for production of fly ash bricks using cement, reliance on different reports for calculation, expertise of revenue authorities in determining proportion of cement used.

Summary:

The High Court of Orissa heard a writ petition seeking to quash an appeal order related to the refund amount calculation for the production of fly ash bricks. The petitioner argued that the authorities based their determination on the use of 430 gms of cement for one brick, as per a report by the CSIR Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology, while the DIC provided a different audit report leading to a higher refund amount. The petitioner contended that the authorities should have considered the DIC report instead of solely relying on the CSIR report. The court issued notice to the opposite parties for further consideration and directed them to refund the admitted amount of Rs. 1,71,824.20 as an interim measure, pending a detailed hearing on the matter. The court emphasized the need for expeditious refund within four months from the date of communication of the impugned order, if feasible.

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