A court-directed deposit made pending appeal is governed by the...

A court-directed deposit made pending appeal is governed by the terms of the interim order, not by the statutory refund provisions. Where the Supreme Court had directed refund, if the appeal succeeded, with applicable interest, the department was bound to honour that condition once the appeal was allowed. The deposited amount was not treated as duty, and the refund claim did not require resort to section 27. The Tribunal rejected the view that interest arose only after delay beyond three months under section 27A, and construed "applicable interest" to mean interest at the applicable rate. Interest was accordingly directed from the date of deposit until payment.