Interest on delayed refund

40.    Where an amount required to be refunded by the Commissioner or the designated officer, to any person, is not so refunded to him within a period of sixty days from the date of the application, a simple interest at the rate of  half per cent per month on the said amount shall be paid to such person from the date, immediately following the expiry of the period of sixty days to the date of the refund.

Explanation.-           (1)       If the delay in granting the refund within the aforesaid period of sixty days is attributable to the taxable person or the registered person, as the case may be, whether wholly or in part, the period of the delay attributable to him, shall be excluded from the period for which interest is payable.

 (2)       Where any question arises as to the period to be excluded in terms of Explanation (1), for the purposes of calculation of interest, such question shall be determined by the Commissioner, whose decision shall be final.

 (3)       Interest under this section, shall be calculated by considering part of the month as one month.