1997 (11) TMI 492

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....nsported by the petitioner from Kota (Rajasthan) to Ludhiana in the month of June, 1994. Goods were detained by the Excise and Taxation Officer, Sales Tax Check Barrier, Moonak (District Sangrur). The goods were, however, released on cash payment of Rs. 40,000 made by the petitioner by way of penalty. The petitioner thereafter filed an appeal against the order of the Excise and Taxation Officer before the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, who, by order dated February 28, 1995, set aside the order passed by the Excise and Taxation Officer and remanded the matter back for fresh enquiry. The officer in-charge, sales tax check barrier, dropped the penalty proceedings and took the view that no penalty was imposable. The penalty was, th....

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....ner is said to be not entitled to interest. It has also been stated by the respondents in their reply that copy of the order was made available to the petitioner on September 24, 1994. The petitioner applied for the refund on May 18, 1996 and, therefore, on account of delay by the petitioner, there was no justification for claiming interest on the amount of refund.   4.. Sub-sections (3), (4) and (5) of section 12 of the Act are relevant for the purposes of interest and these are required to be examined. These sub-sections read as under: "Section 12. Refund.-(1)..................... (2)....................   (3) Where any amount required to be refunded by the assessing authority to any person by virtue of an order issu....

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.... thereafter at the rate of 1.5 per cent per month till the refund is made. Any delay which takes place has to be examined on facts. If it is found that the refund was not allowed within 90 days on account of certain delay beyond the control of the Assessing Authority, the period of delay is required to be excluded. 6.. In the case in hand, the delay is obvious and no plausible explanation has been offered by the respondents to justify the delay except that certain administrative difficulties had occurred on the abolition of the sales tax check barriers. This explanation has no significance and the delay does not stand explained within the terms of sub-section (4) of section 12 of the Act. Any delay which takes place beyond the control of....