Investigation deposits: refund interest may differ from statutory appellate pre-deposit interest when the underlying demand fails.
Interest on the refund of amounts deposited under protest during a customs investigation depends on the legal character of the payment, rather than its later appropriation towards a differential-duty demand. An amount paid pending investigation does not become a statutory appellate pre-deposit merely because part of the overall payment is treated as a pre-deposit for appeal purposes. The rate fixed at 6% for Section 129EE is confined to amounts deposited under Section 129E, while an investigation deposit requires assessment under the applicable refund framework and binding jurisdictional precedent.