JUDGMENT

L. RATH, J. - The defendants, who are respectively the Secretary of the Finance Department of the Government of Orissa, the Collector, Koraput, the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Orissa and the Sales Tax Officer, Koraput II Circle, Rayagada, are in appeal against the plaintiff's suit for claim of Rs. 36,762.12 and interest thereon at 6 per cent for a sum of Rs. 5,414.62 totalling an amount of Rs. 42,176.74 which has been decreed. The plaintiff claimed the amount as due to it as rebate under the provisions of section 9(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 read with section 13(8) of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 as it stood at the relevant time. The provision in the State Act provided that if tax is paid by a dealer on or before the due date of payment, he shall be entitled to rebate of 1 per cent of the tax payable. Under section 9(3) of the Central Act, the tax payable under the Act is assessed and collected in the same manner and in accordance with the same provisions as relate to a tax of the State Act. The facts pleaded by the plaintiff, which are not in dispute, are that they had paid the tax due from it regularly in due time for the financial years 1963-64 to 1968-69 th