- (1.) A short question involved in this appeal as to whether in a fiscal statute, namely, the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, where there is no provision for payments of interest on the amount refundable being deposit as Sales Tax by the assessee himself, learned trial Judge was correct to direct the payments of interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the respective years of deposit.
(2.) THE impugned judgment under appeal passed by the learned trial Judge reads such: "the writ petitioner claims refund of certain amounts of money paid as Sales Tax for inter-state Sales of tea fertilizers. The fertilizers were sent from West Bengal to Assam. As the goods were received at Assam and sale completed only then and there, Sales Tax is applicable in West Bengal would not be attracted at all. The Tribunal has reached this decision but only very recently. The years of assessment in question are some 13/14 years ago. A supplementary affidavit and an opposition to it have also been filed. The years in question and the amounts of refund to be had by the writ petitioner are mentioned clearly there. So far as the first amount of Rs. 1,13,741. 53 is concerned, it has already been paid and accepted. The second amount for the next year being Rs. 2,13,915. 35 as mentioned in the supplementary affidavit of the writ petitioner is payable practically to its full extent as the opposition to the supplementary affidavit also states admits. It is stated there that on verification a fresh assessment of a sum of Rs. 2,13,891. 50 was found to have been paid by the writ petitioner and therefore that is refundable; it is explained that the initial claim of the writ petitioner of Rs. 2,25,000/- has not been found to be admissible in full. The other two amounts of the other two years as mentioned by the writ petitioner in the Supplementary Affidavit are Rs. 1,90,680/-and Rs. 18,286/ -. In regard to these, it is stated in the Opposition to the Supplementary Affidavit that the Commercial Tax Officer has asked for verification of certain challans in regard to those amounts from the bank. The payments relate to 1980. The files of the department were produced. It is true that in some cases the Commercial Tax Officer has received as late as in 1997, verification as regards amounts paid by the writ petitioner in 1979-80. But in regard to the last two years in question, the last queries made by the Commercial Tax Officer to the bank are dated sometime in August 1997 and no reply has yet been forthcoming. In these circumstances, further queries and verification in regard to those amounts must end and the amounts claimed by the writ petitioner must be taken as correct. Those cannot be left to further checking an indefinite verification only because the frequent challans changes have been lost in the department, though no fault of the writ petitioner. The principal amounts for the three years above are, therefore, payable. Mr. Panja submits that apart from these amounts, interest should also be paid. He relies on Rule 11 of the Central Tax (West Bengal) Rules, 1958. It is set out hereunder: "the provisions of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 (Bengal Act VI of 1941) and the rules made thereunder including the use of forms shall apply mutatis mutandis to all proceedings or other matters incidental to the carrying out of the purposes of the Act for which no provision is made in these rules or in the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957. "
(3.) IT is quite true that under the Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1941 there is a provision for payment of interest at the rate of 3% per month by the Commissioner in respect of each English Calendar month. Such interest to be computed from the date of the order of refund passed under section 20 or section 21 of that Act upto the date of payment.;