Writ refund claim for excise interest failed after assessee accepted instalments subject to interest and did not challenge the condition.

Interest attached to instalment relief for excise duty could not be recovered in writ jurisdiction where the assessee had itself sought the instalment facility, accepted the condition to pay interest, and never challenged the conditional order granting that concession. The High Court held that a party cannot take the benefit of an instalment arrangement and later repudiate the burden expressly attached to it. Because the challenge was confined to the refusal of refund and not the original conditional order, the refund claim was not maintainable under Article 226. The argument based on the absence of a statutory provision before Section 11AA of the Central Excise Act did not alter that result.

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Issues: Whether interest paid on instalments of excise duty, accepted under the assessee's request and without challenge to the conditional order permitting instalments, could be refunded in writ jurisdiction.

Analysis: The instalment facility was granted at the appellant's request on condition that interest would be paid. Having availed of that benefit and agreed to the condition, the appellant could not later repudiate the burden attached to the concession. The challenge was directed only against the order refusing refund of interest and not against the underlying conditional order permitting payment in instalments with interest. In the absence of any challenge to the principal order, the refund claim could not be entertained under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The contention based on the absence of a statutory provision before Section 11AA of the Central Excise Act, 1944 did not assist the appellant in the facts of the case.

Conclusion: The refund of interest was rightly refused and the writ petition was not maintainable for such relief; the decision is against the assessee.

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