12. [ Refund. [Substituted by Punjab Act No. 26 of 1978 w.e.f. 20.7.1978.]
(1)The assessing authority shall in the prescribed manner refund to a registered dealer applying in this behalf any amount of tax, interest or penalty paid by such dealer under this Act :(a)if the amount of tax, penalty or interest so paid is in excess of the amount due from him under this Act; or(b)if the amount of tax so paid is in respect of the sale or purchase of any declared goods and such goods are sold in the course of inter-State trade or commerce;either by a refund voucher or, at the option of the dealer, by adjustment of the amount so paid with the amount due from him, in respect of any other period :Provided that the refund under clause (b) shall be subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed :Provided further that no refund under this section shall be allowed unless the claim for refund is made within a period of three years from the date on which such claim accrues.Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-section the expression "in the course of inter-State trade or commerce" shall have the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.(2)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the assessing authority shall first adjust the amount to be refunded towards the recovery of any amount due from the dealer on the date of such adjustment, and shall thereafter refund the balance, if any.(3)Where any amount required to be refunded by the assessing authority to any person by virtue of an order issued under this Act is not refunded to him within ninety days of the date of the order, the dealer shall be entitled to get simple interest on such amount at the rate of one percentum per month from the date immediately following the date of expiry of the said period for a period of one month and thereafter at the rate of one and half percentum per month till the refund is made :Provided that for the purpose of calculation of the interest, part of a month shall be considered as one month and any amount less than one hundred rupees shall be considered as one hundred rupees.(4)If the delay in allowing refund within the aforesaid period of ninety days is for reasons beyond the control of the assessing authority or attributable to the dealer, whether wholly or in part, the period of such delay shall be excluded from the period for which interest is payable.(5)If any question arises whether any period is to be excluded for the purposes of calculation of interest under sub-section (4) the same shall be referred to the Commissioner or such other officer as the State Government may, by notification, appoint, whose decision shall be final.(6)Where an order allowing refund is the subject-matter of an appeal or further proceedings or where any other proceedings under this Act are pending, and the assessing authority is of the opinion that the refund is likely to adversely affect the recovery, the Assessing Authority may withhold the refund and refer the case to the Commissioner whose orders shall be final.(7)The period during which the refund remains withheld under sub-section (6) shall be excluded for the purpose of calculation of interest under this Section.]
