High Court grants interest on customs duty refund, citing equitable principles & legal precedents. 12% interest per annum.

The High Court granted the petitioner entitlement to interest on the refunded customs duty amount, applying equitable principles and legal precedents. Interest was ordered at 12% per annum with yearly rests from the date of the refund claim application until December 1993. Additionally, interest pendente lite at 6% was awarded until payment, with respondents directed to comply within one month. The Court emphasized the established practice of awarding interest when money is wrongfully retained, even before statutory provisions were in place.

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Issues: Entitlement to interest in respect of customs duty refunded in 1994.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner imported kitchen equipment, which was lost and later found damaged while in the possession of customs authorities. The petitioner paid duty under protest and filed a refund claim for the damaged goods. Initially, the refund claim was found time-barred, but the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal allowed the appeal and set aside the order.

2. Despite the Tribunal's order, the petitioner was not refunded the amount promptly. The Tribunal granted one month to comply with the orders, and by December 1993, a partial refund of Rs. 75,151.77 was made to the petitioner. Dissatisfied, the petitioner sought interest on the refunded amount, claiming it was entitled to interest based on well-settled principles when a party retains money illegally.

3. The petitioner relied on precedents from various High Courts to support the claim for interest on the refunded amount. These cases established that when a party retains money wrongfully, interest should be paid. The High Court observed that even before the introduction of Section 27A of the Customs Act, 1962, High Courts allowed interest on delayed refunds based on equitable principles.

4. Considering the petitioner's refund claim application dated 22-11-1984 as the starting point for interest calculation, the High Court ordered the payment of interest on the refunded amount at 12% per annum with yearly rests from 22-11-1984 until December 1993. Additionally, the petitioner was entitled to interest pendente lite at 6% until the payment was made, directing the respondents to make the payment within one month.

5. The High Court allowed the writ petition, granting the petitioner the entitlement to interest on the refunded amount, emphasizing the application of equitable principles and legal precedents in determining the interest rate and period for payment.

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