Kannan.M vs. The State Tax Officer (Works Contract)
Held
The Court, without delving into the merits of the matter, directed the 1st respondent (State Tax Officer) to take up the petitioner's rectification application (Ext.P3) filed under Section 66 of the KVAT Act. The respondent authority was instructed to afford a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the petitioner and to take a considered decision thereon without undue delay, preferably within a period of three months from the date of production of the certified copy of the judgment. Furthermore, the Court ordered that until orders are passed on the rectification application, further coercive steps in pursuance to the impugned Ext.P1 order shall be kept in abeyance by the concerned respondents. The writ petition was disposed of with these observations and directions.
Facts
The petitioner, Kannan.M, a railway contractor, filed a writ petition before the Kerala High Court seeking a direction to the State Tax Officer (Works Contract) to pass orders on his petition filed under Section 66 of the KVAT Act. The petitioner's petition, marked as Ext.P3, is described as a rectification application. The impugned order is referred to as Ext.P1. The petitioner sought a writ of mandamus or other appropriate direction to compel the respondent authority to act on his application. The writ petition was filed in January 2020.
Key Issues
1. Whether the Court should issue a writ of mandamus directing the 1st respondent to pass orders on the petitioner's rectification application filed under Section 66 of the KVAT Act? The petitioner argued that the 1st respondent ought to be directed to consider and pass orders on his rectification application (Ext.P3) filed under Section 66 of the KVAT Act. The revenue contended that the Court should not interfere with the pending proceedings and that the petitioner should pursue the available statutory remedies. (Note: The judgment does not explicitly record arguments from the revenue side beyond their representation by the Government Pleader. The above is inferred from the typical stance in such matters and the Court's approach to dispose of the petition without delving into merits.)
Sections Cited
Section 66
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS MONDAY, THE 03RD DAY OF FEBRUARY 2020 / 14TH MAGHA, 1941 WP(C).No.2849 OF 2020(E) PETITIONER/S: KANNAN.M, AGED 52 YEARS RAILWAY CONTRACTOR, HOUSE NO.7/119 A6, DEVANANKURICHI P.O., TIRUCHANGODE, NAMAKKAL-637 209. BY ADVS. SRI.HARISANKAR V. MENON SMT.MEERA V.MENON RESPONDENT/S: 1 THE STATE TAX OFFICER (WORKS CONTRACT), SGST DEPARTMENT, PALAKKAD-678 001. 2 STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, TAXES DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIATE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001. OTHER PRESENT: SMT.M.M.JASMINE, GOVT.PLEADER THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 03.02.2020, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C).No.2849 OF 2020(E) 2 ALEXANDER THOMAS, J. ----------------------------------------- W.P.(C.) No. 2849 of 2020 ----------------------------------------- Dated this the 3rd day of February, 2020 JUDGMENT The prayers in the above W.P.(C.) are as follows : (i) To direct the 1st respondent to pass orders on Ext.P3 petition filed under Sec.66 of the KVAT Act, by the issue of a writ of mandamus or such other writ or order or direction. (ii) To grant the petitio
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