RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD.versusUNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

                [2011] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 1


             RAN BAXY LABORATORIES LTD.                        A
                             v.
                UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
              (Civil Appeal No. 6823 of 2010)
                    OCTOBER 21, 2011
                                                               B
           [D.K. JAIN AND ANIL R. DAVE, JJ.]

     Central Excise Act, 1944: s.11BB - Interest on delayed
refund - Liability of revenue to pay interest u/s. 11 BB - Held:
Commences from the date of expiry of three months from the C
date of receipt of application for refund and not from the expiry
of the said period from the date on which order of refund is
made- Circular no.67016112002-CX dated 1.10.2002.

     Interpretation of statutes: Fiscal legislation - Held: Has
                                                                0
to be construed strictly and one has to look merely at what is
said in the relevant provision; there is nothing to be read in;
nothing to be implied and there is no room for any intendment
- Central Excise Act, 1944.
     The question which arose for consideration in these E
appeals was whether the liability of the revenue to pay
interest under Section 11 BB of the Central Excise Act,
1944 commences from the date of expiry of three months
from the date of receipt of application for refund or on the
expiry of the said period from the date on which the order F
of refund is made.

    Disposing of the appeals, the Court

     HELD: 1.1. Section 11BB of the Central Excise Act,
1944 comes into play only after an order for refund has G
been made under Section 11 B of the Act. Section 11 BB
of the Act lays down that in case any duty paid is found
refundable and if the duty is not refunded within a period

                              1                                 H
      2      SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011) 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


  A of three months from the date of receipt of the application
    to be submitted under sub-section (1) of Section 11B of
    the Act, then the applicant shall be paid interest at such
    rate, as may be fixed by the Central Government, on
    expiry of a period of three months from the date of receipt
  B of the application. The Explanation appearing below
    Proviso to Section 11 BB introduces a deeming fiction
    that where the order for refund of duty is not made by the
    Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy
    Commissioner of Central Excise but by an Appellate
  c Authority or the Court, then for the purpose of this
    Section the order made by such higher Appellate
    Authority or by the Court shall be deemed to be an order
    made under sub-section (2) of Section 11 B of the Act. It
    is clear that the Explanation has nothing to do with the
  D postponement of the date from which interest becomes
    PC1¥able under Section 11 BB of the Act. Manifestly,
    interest under Section 11 BB of the Act becomes payable,
    if on an expiry of a period of three months from the date
    of receipt of the application for refund, the amount
  E claimed is still not refunded. Thus, the only interpretation
    of Section 11 BB that can be arrived at is that interest
    under the said Section becomes payable on the expiry
    of a period of three months from the date of receipt of the
    application under Sub-section (1) of Section 11B of the
    Act and that the said Explanation does not have any
. F bearing or connection with the date from which interest
    under Section 11 BB of the Act becomes payable. [Para
    9] [10-G-H; 11-A-E]
         1.2. It is a well settled proposition of law that a fiscal
  G legislation has to be construed strictly and one has to
    look merely at what is said in the relevant provision; there
    is nothing to be read in; nothing to be implied and there
    is no room for any lntendment. Ever since Section 11 BB
    was inserted in the Act with effect from 26th May 1995,
  H the department has maintained a consistent stand about
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA               3
               AND ORS.
its interpretation. Explaining the intent, import and the A
manner in which it is to be implemented, the Circular
dated 1st October, 2002 and Circular dated 2nd, June
1998 clearly stated that the relevant date in this regard is
the expiry of three months from the date of receipt of the
application under Section 11B(1) of the Act. Thus liability B
of the revenue to pay interest under Section 11 BB of the
Act commences from the date of expiry of three months
from the date of receipt of application for refund under
Section 11 B(1) of the Act and not on the expiry of the said
 period from the date on which order of refund is made. c
 Accordingly, the jurisdictional Excise officers are required
to determine the amount of interest payable to the
 assessees in these appeals, under Section 11 BB of the
 Act. [Paras 10, 12, 15, 16] [11-F; 13-E-F; 15-B-D]

    Cape Brandy Syndicate v. Inland Revenue                   D
Commissioners (1921) 1 K.B. 64; Ajmera Housing
Corporation & Anr. v. Commissioner of Income Tax (2010) 8
SCC 739: 2010 (10) SCR 183; Union of India v. U.P. Twiga
Fiber Glass Ltd. 2009 (243) E.L.T. A27 (S.C.) - relied on.
                                                              E
    Union of India & Anr. v. Shreeji Colour Chem Industries
(2008) 9 SCC 515: 2008 (13) SCR 502- referred to.
                     Case Law Reference:
  2008 (13) SCR 502            referred to Paras 5 ,6, 14     F
  2009 (243) E.L. T.A27 (S.C.) relied on    Paras 6, 13
  (1921) 1 K.B. 64             relied on    Para 10
  2010 (10) SCR 183            relied on    Para 10
                                                              G
    CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
6823 of 2010.

     From the Judgment & Order dated 18.12.2009 of the High
                                                              H
    4      SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011) 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A Court'"of Delhi at New Delhi in Writ Petition (C) No. 13940 of
  2009.
                                    WITH
    C.A. Nos. 7637 of 2009 & 3088 of 2010.

B       Arijit Prasad, B.K. Prasad, Anil Katiyar, Krishna Mohan
    Menon, (For M.P. Devanath), Tarun Gulati, Shruti Sabharwal,
    Shashi Mathews, Kishore Kunal, Praveen Kumar for the
    appearing parties.

c        The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

        D.K. JAIN, J.: 1. The challenge in this batch of appeals
  is to the final judgments and orders delivered by the High Court
  of Delhi in W. P. No.13940/2009 and the High Court of
  Judicature at Bombay in Central Excise Appeal Nos.163/2007
D and 124 of 2008. The core issue which confronts us in all these
  appeals relates to the question of commencement of the period
  for the purpose of payment of interest, on delayed refunds, in
  terms of Section 11 BB of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (fo~ short
  "the Act"). In short, the question is whether the liability of the
E revenue to pay interest under Section 11 BB of the Act
  commences from the date of expiry of three months from the
  date of receipt of application for refund or on the expiry of the
  said period from the date on which the order of refund is made?

F         2. As aforesaid, in all these appeals the question in issue
    being the same, these are being disposed of by this common
    judgment. However, in order to appreciate the controversy in
    its proper perspective, a few facts from C.A. No. 6823 qf 2010
    may be noted. These are as follows:
G     The appellant filed certain claims for rebate of duty,
  amounting to Rs.4,84,52,227/- between April and May 2003.
  However, the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, vide
  order dated 23rd June 2004, rejected the claim. Aggrieved, the
  appellant filed an appeal before the Commissioner, Central
H Excise (Appeals), who by his order dated 30th September
 RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                    5
           AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
 2004 allowed the appeal and sanctioned the rebate claim. A
  Being aggrieved by the said order, the revenue filed an appeal
 before the Joint Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of
 Finance, but without any success. Ultimately rebate was
 sanctioned on 11th January, 2005. On 21st April 2005, appellant
  fifed a claim for interest under Section 11 BB of the Act on B
. account of delay in payment of rebate.

      3. A show cause notice was issued to the appellant on 5th
July 2005, proposing to reject their claim for interest on the
ground that rebate had been sanctioned to them within three
months of the receipt of order of the Commissioner (Appeals) C
dated 30th September, 2004. Upon consideration of the reply
submitted by the appellant, relying on Explanation to Section
11 BB of the Act, the Assistant Commissioner rejected the
claim.
                                                                   D
      4. Against the said order, the appellant filed an appeal
before the Commissioner (Appeals). The Commissioner
(Appeals) allowed the appeal and directed the Assistant
Commissioner to compute and pay the 111terest to the appellant.
Aggrieved by the said direction, the Assistant Commissioner E
filed an appeal before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax
Appellate Tribunal (for short 'the Tribunal'). However, the appeal
was dismissed by the Tribunal on the ground that it did not have
jurisdiction to deal with a rebate claim. Feeling aggrieved, the
Assistant Commissioner filed a revision application before the F
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India who vide his
order dated 30th July 2009 set aside the order passed by the
Commissioner (Appeals) and held that the appellant was not
entitled to interest under Section 11 BB of the Act.
       5. Being dissatisfied with the said order, the appellant filed G
 a writ petition in the High Court of Delhi. Relying on the decision
 of this Court in Union of India & Anr. Vs. Shreeji Colour Chem
 Industries', by the impugned order, the High Court has affirmed

 1.   (2oos) g sec 515.                                              H
    6        SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A the decision of the ·revisional authority and held that the
  appellant is not entitled to interest under Section 11 BB of the
  Act. Hence, in the lead case the assessee is in appeal before
  us. However, in the connected appeals, the High Court of
  Judicature at Bombay having affirmed the decisions of the
B Tribunal, upholding the claim of the assessee for interest under
  Section 11 BB of the Act, the revenue is the appellant.

          6. Learned counsel appearing for the assessee contended
    that the language of Section 11 BB of the Act is clear and
    admits of no ambiguity, in as much as the revenue becomes
C   liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate on refunds on the
    expiry of three months from the date of receipt of application
    under Section 11B(1) of the Act and such liability continues till
    the refund of duty. Learned counsel urged that reliance on the
    decision of this Court in Shreeji Colour Chem Industries
D   (supra) by the Delhi High Court in rejecting the claim for interest
    is misplaced. It was contended that the said judgment deals
    with two kinds of interest, viz. (i) equitable interest because of
    delayed refunds and (ii) statutory interest payable under
    Section 11 BB of the Act. According to the learned counsel in
E   terms of the latter, the judgment supports the assessee's claim,
    but the High Court has erroneously applied the principle laid
    down for payment of equitable interest. According to the
    learned counsel, the said decision clearly holds that an
    assessee is entitled to interest under the said Section after the
F   expiry of three months from the date of receipt of application
    for payment of refund. In support of the claim, learned counsel
    commended us to the order passed by this Court in Union of
    India Vs. U.P. Twiga Fiber Glass Ltd.2, whereby the appeal
    preferred by the revenue against the decision of the Allahabad
G   High Court has been dismissed. In the said decision, following
    the decision of the Rajasthan High Court in J.K. Cement Works
    Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise & Customs3,
    the Allahabad High Court had held that the relevant date for
    2.   2009 (243) E.L.T. A27 (S.C.).
H   3.   2004 (170) E.L.T. 4.
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                       7
          AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
the putpose of determining the liability to pay interest under A
Section 11 BB of the Act is with reference to the date of
application, laying claim for refund and not the actual
determination of refund under Section 11 B(2) of the Act. To
bolster the claim, learned counsel placed strong reliance on a
number of Circulars on the point, issued by the Department of B
 Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, clarifying that with
the insertion of new Section 11 BB of the Act, the department
had become liable to pay interest under the said Section if the
 refund applications were not processed within three months from
 the date of receipt of refund applications.                        c
     7. Mr. Arijit Prasad, learned counsel appearing for the
revenue, on the other hand, submitted that since in the present
cases no refunds were sanctioned under Section 11 B of the Act,
the provisions of Section 11 BB of the Act were not attracted.
In the alternative, it was submitted that the refund orders having     D
been sanctioned within three months of the passing of orders
by the appellate authority, interest under the said Section was
not payable.

     8. Before evaluating the rival contentions, it would be           E
necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Act. Section
11 B of the Act deals with claims for refund of duty. Relevant
portion thereof reads as under:

     "118.Claim for refund of duty.-(1) Any person claiming
     refund of any duty of excise and interest, if any, paid on such   F
     duty may make an application for refund of such duty and
     interest if any, paid on such duty to the Assistant
     Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner
     of Central Excise before the expiry of one year from the
     relevant date in such form and manner as may be                   G
     prescribed and the application shall be accompanied by
     such documentary or other evidence including the
     documents referred to in section 12A as the applicant may
     furnish to establish that the amount of duty of excise and
     interest, if any, paid on such duty in relation to which such     H
        8     SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011) 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.

    A       refund is claimed was collected from or paid by him and
            the incidence of such duty and interest if any, paid on such
            duty had not been passed on by him to any other person:
•           Provided that where an application for refund has been
            made before the commencement of the Central Excises
    B
            and Customs Laws (Amend,ment) Act, 1991, such
            application shall be deemed to have been made under this
            sub-section as amended by the Act and the same shall be
            dealt with in accordance with the provisions of sub-section
            (2) as substituted by that Act:
    c
            Provided further that the limitation of one year shall not
            apply where any duty has been paid under protest.

            (2) If, on receipt of any such application, the Assistant
    D       Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner
            of Central Excise is satisfied that the whole or any part of
            the duty of excise and interest, if any, paid on such duty
            paid by the applicant is refundable, he may make an order
            accordingly and the amount so determined shall be
            credited to the Fund:
    E
            Provided that the amount of duty of excise and interest, if
            any, paid on such duty of excise as determined by the
            Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy
            Commissioner of Central Excise under the foregoing
    F       provisions of this sub-section shall, instead of being
            credited to the Fund, be paid to the applicant, if such
            amount is relatable t o -
             (a)   rebate of duty of excise on excisable goods
                   exported out of India or on excisable materials
    G
                   used in the manufacture of goods which are
                   exported out of India;
             (b)   unspent advance deposits lying in balance in the
                   applicant's current account maintained with the
    H              Commissioner of Central Excise;
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                  9
          AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]

    (c)   refund of credit of duty paid on excisable goods        A
          used as inputs in accordance with the rules made,
          or any notification issued, under this Act;

    (d)   the duty of excise and interest, if any, paid on such
          duty paid by the manufacturer, if he had not passed     B
          on the incidence of such duty and interest, if any,
          paid on such duty to any other person;

    (e)   the duty of excise and interest, if any, paid on such
          duty borne by the buyer, if he had not passed on
          the incidence of such duty and interest, if any, paid   c
          on such duty to any other person;

    (f)   the duty of excise and interest, if any, paid on such
          duty borne by any other such class of applicants as
          the Central Government may, by notification in the      D
          Official Gazette, specify :

  Provided further that no notification under clause (f) of the
  first proviso shall be issued unless in the opinion of the
  Central Government, the incidence of duty and interest, if
  any, paid on such duty has not been passed on by the            E
  persons concerned to any other person.

  (3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in
  any judgment, decree, order or direction of the Appellate
  Tribunal of any Court in any other provision of this Act or     F
  the rules made thereunder or any other law for the time
  being in force, no refund shall be made except as provided
  in sub-section (2).

   (4)
                                                                  G
   (5)                                                       "

   Section 11 BB, the pivotal provision, reads thus:

   "11 BB. Interest on delayed refunds.-
                                                                  H
    10     SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A        If any duty ordered to be refunded under sub-section (2)
         of section 11 B to any applicant is not refunded within three
         months from the date of receipt of application under sub-
         section (1) of that section, there shall be paid to that
         applicant interest at such rate, not below five per cent and
B        not exceeding thirty per cent per annum as is for the time
         being fixed by the Central Government, by Notification in
         the Official Gazette, on such duty from the date immediately
         after the expiry of three months from the date of receipt of
         such application till the date of refund of such duty :
c        Provided that where any duty ordered to be refunded under
         sub-section (2) of section 11 B in respect of an application
         under sub-section (1) of that section made before the date
         on which the Finance Bill, 1995 receives the assent of the
         President, is not refunded within three months from such
D        date, there shall be paid to the applicant interest under this
         section from the date immediately after three months from
         such date, till the date of refund of such duty.

         Explanation : Where any order of refund is made by the
E        Commissioner (Appeals), Appellate Tribunal or any Court
         against an order of the Assistant Commissioner of Central
         Excise, under sub-section (2) of section 11 B, the order
         passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), Appellate
         Tribunal or, as the case may be, by the Court shall be
F        deemed to be an order passed under the said sub-section
         (2) for the purposes of this section."
        9. It is manifest from the afore-extracted provisions that
  Section 11 BB of the Act comes into play only after an order
  for refund has been made under Section 11 B of the Act.
G Section 11 BB of the Act lays down that in case any duty paid
  is found refundable and if the duty is not refunded within a period
  of three months from the date of receipt of the application to
  be submitted under sub-section ( 1) of Section 11 B of the Act,
  then the applicant shall be paid interest at such rate, as may
H
 RAN BAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                  11
            AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]

be fixed by the Central Government, on expiry of a period of         A
three months from the date of receipt of the application. The
Explanation appearing below Proviso to Section 11 BB
introduces a deeming fiction that where the order for refund of
duty is not made by the Assistant Commissioner of Central
Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise but by an            B
Appellate Authority or the Court, then for the purpose of this
Section the order made by such higher Appellate Authority or
by the Court shall be deemed to be an order made under sub-
section (2) of Section 11 B of the Act. It is clear that the
Explanation has nothing to do with the postponement of the date      c
from which interest becomes payable under Section 11 BB of
the Act. Manifestly, interest under Section 11 BB of the Act
becomes payable, if on an expiry of a period of three months
from the date of receipt of the application for refund, the amount
claimed is still not refunded. Thus, the only interpretation of      D
Section 11 BB that can be arrived at is that interest under the
said Section becomes payable on the expiry of a period of
three months from the date of receipt of the application under
Sub-section (1) of Section 11 B of the Act and that the said
Explanation does not have any bearing or connection with the
date from which interest under Section 11 BB of the Act              E
becomes payable.

     10. It is a well settled proposition of law that a fiscal
legislation has to be construed strictly and one has to look
merely at what is said in the relevant provision; there is nothing   F
to be read in; nothing to be implied and there is no room for
any intendment. (See: Cape Brandy Syndicate Vs. Inland
Revenue Commissioners• and Ajmera Housing Corporation
& Anr. Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax. 5).
                                                                     G
     11. At this juncture, it would be apposite to extract a
Circular dated 1st October 2002, issued by the Central Board
of Excise & Customs, New Delhi, wherein referring to its earlier
4.   [1991] 1 K.B. 64.
s.   (201 O) a sec 739.                                              H
    12     SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R


A Circular dated 2nd June 1998, whereby a direction was issued
  to fix responsibility for not disposing of the refund/rebate claims
  within three months from the date of receipt of application, the
  Board has reiterated its earlier stand on the applicability of
  Section 11 BB of the Act. Significantly, the Board has stressed
B that the provisions of Section 11 BB of the Act are attracted
  "automatically" for any refund sanctioned beyond a period of
  three months. The Circular reads thus:
               "Circular No.670/61/2002-CX, dated 1-10-2002
                                         F.No.268/5112002-CX.8
c                          Government of India
              Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue)
             Central Board of Excise & Customs, New Delhi
         Subject : Non-payment of interest in refund/rebate cases
         which are sanctioned beyond three months of filing -
D        regarding

               I am directed to invite your attention to provisions of
         section 11 BB of Central Excise I.ct, 1944 that wherever
         the refund/rebate claim is sanctioned beyond the
E        prescribed period of three months of filing of the claim,
         the interest thereon shall be paid to the applicant at the
         notified rate. Board has been receiving a large number of
         representations from claimants to say that interest due to
         them on sanction of refund/rebate claims beyond a period
F        of three months has not been granted by Central Excise
         formations. On perusal of the reports received from field
         formations on such representations, it has been observed
         that in majority of the cases, no reason is cited. Wherever
         reasons are given, these are found to be very vague and
G
         unconvincing. In one case of consequential refund, the
         jurisdictional Central Excise officers had taken the view
         that since the Tribunal had in its order not directed for
         payment of interest, no interest needs to be paid.

         2. In this connection, Board would like to stress that the
H
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF !NOIA                      13
          AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.]
     provisions of section 1188 of Central Excise Act, 1944            A
     are attracted automatically for any refund sanctioned
     beyond a period of three months. The jurisdictional Central
     Excise Officers are not required to wait for instructions
     from any superior officers or to look for instructions in the
     orders of higher appellate authority for grant of interest.       B
     Simultaneously, Board would like to draw attention to
     Circular No.398131 /98-CX, dated 2-6-98 [1998 (100)
     E.L.T. T16] wherein Board has directed that responsibility
     should be fixed for not disposing of the refund/rebate
     claims within three months from the date of receipt of            c
     application. Accordingly, jurisdictional Commissioners
     may devise a suitable monitoring mechanism to ensure
     timely disposal of refund/rebate cla_ims. Whereas all
     necessary action should be taken to ensure that no interest
     liability is attracted, should the liability arise, the legal
                                                                       0
     provision for the payment of interest should be scrupulously
     followed."
                                             (Emphasis supplied)

     12. Thus, ever since Section 1188 was inserted in the Act         E
with effect from 26th May 1995, the department has maintained
a consistent stand about its interpretation. Explaining the intent,
import and the manner in which ii is to be implemented, the
Circulars clearly state that the relevant date in this regard is the
expiry of three months from the date of receipt of the                 F
application under Section 11 B(1) of the Act.

     13. We, thus find substance in the contention of learned
counsel for the assessee that in fact the issue stands
concluded by the decision of this Court in U.P. Twiga Fiber
Glass Ltd. (supra). In the said case, while dismissing the G
special leave petition filed by the revenue and putting its seal
of approval on the decision of the Allahabad High Court, this
Court had observed as under:

     "Heard both the parties.                                          H
    14     SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 13 (ADDL.) S.C.R.


A              In our view the law laid down by the Rajasthan High
         Court succinctly in the case of J.K. Cement Works v.
         Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise & Customs
         reported in 2004 (170) E.L.T. 4 vide Para 33:

B                      "A close reading of Section 11 BB, which now
               governs the question relating to payment of interest
               on belated payment of interest, makes it clear that
               relevant date for the purpose of determining the
               liability to pay interest is not the determination under
               sub-section (2) of Section 11 B to refund the amount
c              to the applicant and not to be transferred to the
               Consumer Welfare Fund but the relevant date is to
               be determined with reference to date of application
               laying claim to refund. The non-payment of refund
               to the applicant claimant within three months from
D              the date of such application or in the case governed
               by proviso to Section 11 BB, non-payment within
               three months from the date of the commencement
               of Section 11 BB brings in the starting point of
               liability to pay interest, notwithstanding the date on
E              which decision has been rendered by the
               competent authority as to whether the amount is to
               be transferred to Welfare Fund or to be paid to the
               applicant needs no interference."

F              The special leave petition is dismissed. No costs."

        14. At this stage, reference may be made to the decision
  of this Court in Shreeji Colour Chem Industries (supra), relied
  upon by the Delhi High Court. It is evident from a bare reading
  of the decision that insofar as the reckoning of the period for
G the purpose of payment of interest under Section 11 BB of the
  Act is concerned, emphasis has been laid on the date of
  receipt of application for refund. In that case, having noted that
  application by the assessee requesting for refund, was filed
  before the Assistant Commissioner on 12th January 2004, the
H Court directed payment of Statutory interest under the said
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                    15
          AND ORS. [D.K. JAIN, J.)
Section from 12th April 2004 i.e. after the expiry of a period of    A
three months from the date of receipt of the application. Thus,
the said decision is of no avail to the revenue.

     15. In view of the above analysis, our answer to the
question formulated in para (1) supra is that the liability of the   B
revenue to pay interest under Section 11 BB of the Act
commences from the date of expiry of three months from the
date of receipt of application for refund under Section 11 B(1)
of the Act and not on the expiry of the said period from the date
on which order of refund is made.
                                                                     c
     16. As a sequitur, C.A.No.6823 of 2010, filed by the
assessee is allowed and C.A.Nos.7637/2009 and 3088/2010,
preferred by the revenue are dismissed. The jurisdictional
Excise officers shall now determine the amount of interest
payable to the assessees in these appeals, under Section             D
11 BB of the Act, on the basis of the legal positiori, explained
above. The amount(s), if any, so worked out, shall be paid within
eight weeks from today.

    17. However, on the facts and in the circumstances of the        E
cases, there will be no order as to costs.

D.G.                                      Appeals disposed of.