https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=403757 Amount deposited during search could not be retained once no assessment order had been passed and the assessment period under section 34 of the VAT Act had expired. Section 36 required refund of excess payment, subject only to lawful adjustment of recoverable dues, and section 39 allowed withholding of refund only where a pending appeal or similar process justified it. As those conditions were absent, retention of the sum was unlawful. The reliance on section 34(8A)(a) was found inapplicable on the facts, and the applicants were entitled to refund with statutory interest. en-us Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 08 Feb 2021 13:04:07 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=403757 Amount deposited during search could not be retained once no assessment order had been passed and the assessment period under section 34 of the VAT Act had expired. Section 36 required refund of excess payment, subject only to lawful adjustment of recoverable dues, and section 39 allowed withholding of refund only where a pending appeal or similar process justified it. As those conditions were absent, retention of the sum was unlawful. The reliance on section 34(8A)(a) was found inapplicable on the facts, and the applicants were entitled to refund with statutory interest. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=403757