https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=112524 A penal provision cannot be applied to a default period before its commencement, so penalty under the later inserted proviso to Rule 96ZO(3) was unsustainable and was set aside. Interest under Rule 96ZO(3), however, remained mandatory once the assessee failed to discharge duty on time; a bona fide belief and challenge to the duty liability did not displace the statutory obligation. The assessee therefore obtained only partial relief, with the interest demand upheld and the penalty deleted. en-us Fri, 11 Jun 2004 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:49:40 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=112524 A penal provision cannot be applied to a default period before its commencement, so penalty under the later inserted proviso to Rule 96ZO(3) was unsustainable and was set aside. Interest under Rule 96ZO(3), however, remained mandatory once the assessee failed to discharge duty on time; a bona fide belief and challenge to the duty liability did not displace the statutory obligation. The assessee therefore obtained only partial relief, with the interest demand upheld and the penalty deleted. Case-Laws Central Excise Fri, 11 Jun 2004 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=112524