CESTAT allowed the appeal by the Appellant and set aside the...

CESTAT allowed the appeal by the Appellant and set aside the impugned order. The Tribunal held that where the statute prescribes payment and rate of interest on deposits, courts must grant interest strictly in terms of the statute; in the present matter the statutory scheme governed interest on deposits under Sections 35F/35FF and Section 11BB. The adjudicating authority correctly applied departmental clarification treating amounts paid during investigation as pre-deposit only to the extent prescribed, deemed the filing date as deposit-date for that portion, and awarded interest accordingly; no infirmity was found in awarding interest on the residual amount under Section 11BB. The Revenue's appeal succeeds.