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Section 64(7) of the estate duty act, 1953 [As amended by amendment act, 1958 with effect from 1-7-1960]-Reference to high court-Estate duty assessment completed in October 1958-Appeal pending before CBDT till 30-12-1961-High court reduced principal value in November 1971 resulting in refund-Deputy controller refusing interest on excess duty paid-Whether such interest admissible - Held yes. Facts On the death of BM on 17-03-1954, the Deputy Controller determined, by his order dated 30-10-1958, the principal value of the entire estate which passed on his death at Rs. 26,75,788 with estate duty liability of Rs. 6,03,986. The accountable persons objected to the valuation before the CBDT which decided the appeal on 30-12-1961. The matter was, however, finally decided by the High Court by its order dated 30-11-1971 wherein the principal value was reduced entailing a refund of duty of Rs. 4,66,184. While granting the refund, the department refused to pay any interest thereon. The accountable person challenged this refusal in a writ petition contending that section 64(7) [brought into force from 1-07-1960 vide Estate Duty (Amendment) Act, 1958] being a beneficial provision, the Controller had no option but to grant suitable interest on duty overpaid on the basis of the High Court's order and that it would make no difference whether the assessment was made before or after 1-07-1960. The Revenue, on the other hand, contended that, by virtue of section 29 of the said (Amendment) Act, 1958, this section 64(7) could not be applied in the cases of any appeal pending or right accrued before the commencement of this Act. Held 1. Section 64(7) is not retrospective but pros pective, i.e., it will be applicable to cases where the cause of action for a particular relief has arisen after coming into force of the Amendment Act. In this case, although the assessment was completed on 30-10-1958 and the appeal was pending before the CBDT for decision, the right of refund and the cause of action for getting interest on the overpaid amount accrued only on High Court's order dated 30-11-1971. As such, section 29 of the Amendment Act had no application. 2. The accountable person(s) would,…

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