Delayed refund of appellate pre-deposit carries interest from the refund due date, protecting the assessee's money.

A refundable pre-deposit made during appellate proceedings is treated as a deposit, not duty, and if its refund is withheld after the appeal succeeds, the assessee is entitled to interest for the period of delay. The Gujarat HC noted that unreasonable retention of the amount caused financial loss and that interest runs from the date the refund became due, i.e. the appellate authority's order, until actual payment. Relief was therefore granted in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to interest on delayed refund of the pre-deposit amount made during the appeal proceedings.

Analysis: The refund of the pre-deposit was granted only after a substantial delay, although the amount had been deposited under protest and was refundable once the appeal succeeded. The delay in making the refund unjustly withheld money to which the assessee was entitled, causing financial loss. In such circumstances, the court applied the principle that a refundable pre-deposit is not duty but a deposit made to avail the appellate remedy, and that delayed refund carries interest from the date of the appellate order.

Conclusion: The assessee was held entitled to interest on the delayed refund from the date of the appellate authority's order until payment, and the relief was granted in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a pre-deposit made for pursuing an appeal is refunded after unreasonable delay, the assessee is entitled to interest for the period of withholding from the date the refund became due.

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