The Kerala Finance Act, 2004 [1] Complete Act - Bare Act

ACT 19 OF 2004

THE KERALA FINANCE ACT, 2004 [1]

An Act to give effect to certain financial proposals of the Government of Kerala for the financial year 2004-05.

Preamble

.-

W it is expedient to give effect to certain financial proposals of the Government of

Kerala

for the Financial Year 2004-05;

BE it enacted in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1.

Short title and commencement

.-(1) This Act may be called the

Kerala

Finance Act

,2004

(2) Item (iv) (b) of sub-section (1) and sub-section (3) of section 3 shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1^st day of July, 1987

,sub

-section (14) of section 3 and sub-section (1) of section 6 shall be deemed to have come into force on the 4^th day of February, 2004 and the remaining provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1^st day of April, 2004.

2.

Amendment of Act 35 of 1958

.-

In the

Kerala

Money Lenders Act, 1958 (35 of 1958),-

(1)

in

section 7, after the existing proviso to sub-section(1), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

"Provided further that the Government may specify, by notification, the rate of interest under sub-section (1) from time to time.

";

(2)

in

section 16B, in sub-section (1A), for the words "one hundred rupees" the words "three hundred rupees" shall be substituted.

(3)

after

section 16B, the following section shall be inserted, namely:"

"16C, Fees for filing Interlocutory Applications.

"Every interlocutory application prescribed by the Government and filed before, the authorities under this Act specified below, other than those filed by officers empowered by Government, shall be accompanied by the following fees, namely:"

(a)

before

any Appellate Authority"One hundred and fifty rupees;

(b)

before

any

Revisional

Authority"One hundred and fifty rupees.";

(4), in section 20A, in sub-section (1A), for the words "two hundred and fifty rupees", the words "seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted.

3. Amendment of Act 15 of 1963."In the

Kerala

General Sales Tax Act, 1963,"

(1)

in

Section 2,-

(

i

)

after

clause (vi), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

"(vi a) "Books of Accounts" means and includes ledger, day book, Cash book, accounts book and other records whether kept in written form or print-outs of data stored in a floppy, disc, tape or any form of electro magnetic data storage device.

(

vi

aa

) "Brand name" means a name or trade mark whether registered or not registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Central Act 47 of 1999) and includes a name or mark, such as a symbol, monogram, label signature or intended words or any writing which is used in relation to a product for the purpose of indicating or so as to indicate, a connection in the course of trade between the product and a dealer using such name or mark with or without any indication of the said dealer;";

(ii)

after

clause (x), the following clause shall be inserted, namely;"

"(x a) "document" includes written or printed records of any sort, title deed and any electronic record as defined in the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Central Act 21 of 2000);";

(iii)

after

clause (xi), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:"

"(xi a) "Fair market price" means the sale price for the sale of goods fixed by the assessing

authority if

he has reason to believe that the dealer has practiced undervaluation and the sale price shall be the value or price at which the goods of the kind or quality are sold or capable of being sold in the open market or the price obtained from the

Kerala

State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. Or Economics and Statistics Department of the State or other reliable sources on the date of sale pf such goods

;.

";

(iv)

in

clause (xxvii),"

(a)

in

sub-clause (

i

) of Explanation (1 A), after the words "in the execution of such contract" the following shall be added at the end, namely:"

but

shall not include the amount received or receivable by the contractor from the awarder for the execution of the contract towards

labour

charges and other service chargers.";

(b)

after

sub-clause (iii) of Explanation (1 A), the following sub-clause shall be added, namely:"

"(iv) The turnover in respect of liquor imported or manufactured at any distillery, brewery, winery or other manufactory established under section 14 of

Abkari

Act, 1 of 1077, shall include any duty of excise payable by such importer or manufacturer.";

(2)

in

section 4, in clause (c) of sub-section (3), for the words "one

lakh

fifty thousand rupees" the words "three

lakh

rupees" shall be substituted;

(3)

in

clause (

i

) of sub-section (2C) of section 5, after sub-clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:"

"(c)

by any manufacturer of distillery, brewery, winery or other manufactory established under section 14 of

Abkari

Act, 1 of 1077, shall be liable to pay turnover tax on the turnover including any duty of excise

leviable

on such liquor at the hands of such person, whether such duty is paid by such person or any subsequent dealer as per the provisions in section 18 of the said Act.";

(4)

in

section 5B,-

(

i

) for the words and figures "serial number 46 and 60 of the First Schedule", the words and figures "serial number 46, 46A and 60 of the First Schedule" shall be substituted; -

(ii)

the

existing section shall be numbered as sub-section (1) of that section and after the sub-section (1) as so numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely."

"(2) Catering units which supply cooked food to hotels, parties in connection with marriages and other ceremonial functions, whose total turnover in a year exceeds rupees five

lakh

shall pay an amount of rupees five hundred per annum for every one

lakh

rupees or part thereof in excess of rupees five

lakh

as

licence

fee in such manner as may be prescribed.";

(5)

for

section 5BA, the following section shall be substituted, namely:"

"5BA. Levy of

licence

fee of lottery tickets.

"Any dealer liable to pay tax under sub-section (1) of section 5 shall pay

licence

fee per draw at the following rates, in lieu of tax payable under that section, namely:"

"(a) Paper Lottery"

Explanation:"-For

the purpose of this section "retail outlet" means any premises where vending machine is placed for the purpose of selling on-line lottery tickets to customers and each vending machine from which tickets are generated shall be deemed to be a separate retail outlet"; :

(6)

for

section 5C, the following section shall be substituted, namely:"

"5C. Computation of turnover of a denier in respect of transfer of goods involved in the execution of works contract."The turnover of a dealer in respect of transfer of goods involved in the execution of works contract, where the transfer takes place not in the form of goods, but in some other form and the circumstances are such that the actual turnover is not ascertainable from the books of accounts of the dealer, may be computed after deducting

labour

and other charges as specified in the table below from the total amount of contract.

Table

in

section -7,

(

i

)

in

sub-section (1),"

(a)

for

clause (a) and the Explanation the following clause and explanation shall be substituted, namely:"

"(a) Any dealer in gold or silver ornaments or wares, may at his option instead of paying tax in accordance with the provisions of that sub section, pay tax at one hundred and thirty per cent of the tax payable by him as conceded in the return or accounts or the tax paid for the previous consecutive three years whichever is higher.

Explanation:--

Forthe purpose of this clause "tax payable as conceded in the return or accounts for the previous consecutive three years means tax payable on the sales turnover under sub-section (1) of section 5 and the tax payable on the purchase turnover under section 5A."

(b)

after

clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-

"(

aa

) an application for compounding tax as provided in clause (a) shall be filed before the assessing authority on or before 31st May of the respective financial year and the assessing authority shall issue the order of accepting or rejecting the application on or before 30th day of June thereof:

Provided further that the option for the financial year 2004-05 shall be filed before the assessing authority on or before 31st,day of August, 2004 and the assessing authority shall issue the order of accepting or rejecting the option on or before 30th September, 2004: ^:

Provided further that a dealer who had already filed the option for the financial year 2004-05 as per clause (

aa

) above may withdraw or file fresh option within the above said period."

(c)

in

clause (b), for the Explanation, the following Explanation shall be substituted, namely:"

"Explanation:"For the purpose of this clause primary crusher shall also be reckoned for computation of the quantum of compounded tax and the rate of compounded tax applicable to primary crusher shall be 50 per cent of

therates

mentioned in items (

i

), (ii) and (iii) above.";

(ii)

for

sub-section (7), the following sub-section shall be substituted,

namely:"

"(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section,(l) of section 5, every contractor; in civil works may, at his option, instead of paying tax in accordance with clause (iv) of that sub-section, pay tax at the rate of two per cent on the whole amount of contract.

Explanation:- For

the purpose of this section "civil works" means construction or repair or maintenance of buildings, bridges, roads, runways, dams, canals, wells, ponds, swimming pools, water tanks or culvert including any masonry work or any other, work of the like nature as may be, notified by Government in this behalf, from time to time, but shall not include any improvement or

upgradation

of such, civil work by means of fixing or laying of all kinds of floor tiles, mosaic tiles, slabs, stones, marbles, glazed tiles, painting, polishing, partitioning, wall

panelling

interior decoration, false sealing, carpeting, electrification, air conditioning or any other improvement on an existing structure.";

(iii)

for

sub-section (7C), the following sub-section shall be

substituted,namely

:-

"(7C) Every awarder shall obtain from the contractor or

assessee

who is liable to pay tax under sub-section (1) of section 5 including those who opted payment of tax under section 7, a declaration from the contractor or

assessee

with the details of tax liability at the time of every payment in relation to the works contract including the advance payment:

Provided that the awarder shall obtain quarterly certificate issued by the assessing authority, showing the tax liability or the tax remittance as the case may be, of the contractor

upto

the previous quarter from the contractor or

assessee

:

Provided further that the awarder shall be personally liable for any tax escaped

frorn

collection for the reason of payments effected without obtaining the certificate as stated in the preceding, proviso.";

(8) section 12, shall be re-numbered as sub-section (1) of that section and after sub-section (1) as so re-numbered the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:-

"(2) The burden of proving that the dealer has not received fair market price on any transaction shall lie on such dealer.

3. The burden of proving the genuineness of the transport of goods using the

documents prescribed in section

29,

shall lie on such dealer".

(9)

in

section 14,-

(

i

)

in

sub-section (1)."

(a)

for

clauses (a) to (d), the following, clauses shall be substituted, namely:-

";

(b)

in

the second proviso, for the words "one thousand rupees" the words "one

thousand and five hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(c)

after

the second proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

"Provided also that the certificate issued to casual traders shall be valid for a period

of three months from the date of issue of the certificate.

";

(ii)

in

sub-section (3), for the words- "one hundred rupees" the words "one hundred and fifty rupees'' shall be substituted;

(iii)

after

sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-

" (3 A) A dealer conducting exhibitions, exchange

melas

or any prize schemes for sales promotion, shall obtain a written permission from the assessing authority, in whose jurisdiction the dealer is registered under the Act, for conducting the same by remitting a fee of rupees five hundred for each such scheme and the

assessing authority

shall issue a certificate in the manner prescribed and such certificate shall be exhibited at a conspicuous place where exhibitions or exchange

rnelas

or prize schemes are conducted.

(iv)

after

sub-section (5), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:"

"(5A) A certificate issued under sub-section (2) shall bevalid for a period of one year and shall be renewed annually on payment of the fees as specified below;"

(5B) Every registered dealer shall be issued an electronic identity card subject to such conditions as may be notified by Government in this behalf.";

(10)

in

section 15,"

(

i

)

in

sub-section (4), for the words "one hundred rupees" the words "one hundred and fifty rupees" shall be substituted;

(ii) in sub-section (6), for the words "one hundred rupees" the words" one hundred and fifty rupees" Shall be substituted;

(11)

in

section 17,"

(a

)in

sub-section (8), after the proviso, the following provisos shall , be inserted, namely:" .

"Provided further that any modified assessment or modified re-assessment in pursuance of an order of the appellate or the

revisional

authority shall be completed within a period of one year from the expiry of the year in which the order was received:

Provided also that all such modified assessments pending as on 1^st day of April, 2004 shall be completed on or before the 31^st day of March, 2005.

";

(b

)after

sub-section (8), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-

"(8A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (8) in case any investigation or enquiry is pending under this Act or any other law, where any assessment cannot be completed within the period specified under the said sub section, the Commissioner may, for good and sufficient reasons, extend the period of completion of the assessment not exceeding a period of six months from the period specified in that sub-section.";

(12)

in

section 19B, in sub-section (1), for the words "prevailing market price" the words "fair market price" shall

(13)

in

section 23, for sub-section (3A), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-

"(3A) Where any dealer has failed to include any turnover or taxable turnover

of his business or to pay the tax due thereon on the taxable turnover in any return filed or where any turnover or tax due has escaped assessment, interest under sub-section (3) shall accrue on the tax due on the turnover with effect from such date on which the tax due would have fallen due for payment, had the dealer included the same in the return relating to the period to which the turnover or tax as the case may be, relates.";

(14)

after

section 23 AA, the following section shall be inserted, namely:"

"23B."Reduction of interest in certain cases

."

( 1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court or Tribunal, an

assessee

, who is in arrears to pay tax or any other amount due under this Act

upto

the period ending on 3.1^st March, 2003 may opt for settling the arrears, by availing a reduction of interest, by paying the amount as shown below:"

(

i

)

outstanding

tax amount along with 30 per cent of interest already due on the date of payment, if paid on or before 29^th February, 2004.

(ii)

outstanding

tax amount with 40 per cent of interest already due on the date of payment if paid on or before 31st March, 2004;

Provided that the reduction in interest granted under this section shall be applicable to cases in which revenue recovery proceedings have already been initiated and where the amount is settled under this section, the assessing authority shall withdraw the revenue recovery proceedings against such

assessee

;

Provided further that the assessing authority shall have the power to collect the tax

advised for revenue recovery.

(2)A dealer who

opt

for payment of the arrears under this section shall make an application to the assessing authority in writing on or before the 15^th February, 2004.

(3) On receipt of an application under sub-section (2), the assessing authority shall intimate the quantum of tax or other amount due under this Act and the interest payable under sub-section (3) of section 23 as on date of payment after allowing the reduction of interest under sub-section (1).

(4) Where any second appeal or revision filed by the Government is pending against any

order or

proceedings giving rise to any demand and an

assessee

has opted to avail himself of the benefit under this section in respect of such demand, such appeal or revision may be continued as if the dealer had not opted for the benefit under this section.";

(15)

in

section 28A, in sub-section (1), for the words "prevailing market price", the words " fair market price" shall be substituted;

(16)

in section 30E, in sub-section (9), for the words "rupees five hundred", the words " rupees seven hundred" shall be substituted;

(17)

in section 34, in sub-section (2), for the words "two hundred rupees", the words " three hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(18)

in section 36, in sub-section (2), for the words "two hundred rupees", the words " three hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(19)

in section 38, in sub-section (2), for the words "five hundred rupees", the words " seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted;-

(20)

in section 39, in sub-section (3), for the words "five hundred rupees", the words " seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(21)

in

section 42 A, in clause (a) for the words "one hundred rupees", the words " one hundred and fifty rupees" shall be Substituted;

(22)

in

section 45A, in sub-section (5A), for the words "rupees two hundred" and "rupees five hundred", the words "rupees three hundred" and "rupees seven hundred" shall, respectively, be substituted;

23. Amendment of the Schedule,"

(

i

)

in

the First schedule,"

(a) after serial number 5 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(b)

against

serial number 20, in column (4) for the figure '4' the figure '1' shall be substituted;

(c) after serial number 26 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"-

"27

. Cement

including white cement do. 15";

(d) after serial number 46 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4) the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(e)

against

item No. (1)

of

serial No. 54, for the figure 8 in column (4), the figure ˜12' shall be substituted;

(f)after serial number 54 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial numbers and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(g) after serial number 61 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns(2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(h) after serial number 63 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

Explanation.

"Slotted angles when assembled form furniture or rack shall be deemed

to be furniture for the purpose of this entry";

(

i

) after serial number 81 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively, be inserted, namely:"

"82. Linoleum and flexible flooring material"; do. 12";

(j) after serial number 86 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(k) against serial number 92, the entries in columns (2) to (4) shall be renumbered as item (

i

), thereof and after the entry as so numbered the following item and entries shall, respectively, be inserted, namely:"

(l) after serial number 92 A in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4) the following serial numbers and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(n)after serial number 102 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns(2) to (4), the following serial, number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely :-

(o) for serial number L08 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4) the following serial number and entries shall, respectively, be substituted, namely:-

"108. Petroleum products namely:-

Explanation:"For

the purpose serial No. 108 (

i

) to (xi) above, Oil Company means Cochin Refineries Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.,

Bharath

Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Indo-Burma Petroleum Co. Ltd. and includes such other company as the Government may by notification in the Gazette specify in this behalf.";

(p) after serial number 112 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(q) after serial number 119 in. column, (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number, and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely::"

(u) after serial number 145 in column (1) and the entries against it in columns (2) to (4), the following serial number and entries shall, respectively be inserted, namely:"

(z)

for serial number

133

in

column (1) and the entries-

against

it in

columns

(2) to

(4), the following serial number

and entries

shall, respectively, be

substituted,

namely::

"

"133. Soaps

other

than

handmade

do

.

(ii) In the

Second

Schedule,

in serial number 2, after

item (P) in

column

(2)

and

the entries against

it in columns (3) and (4), the

following item

and entries

shall respectively

be

inserted,

namely:"

"(q)

Galavanised

Iron Pipes

(G.

I. Pipe) do. 4";

(iii)

In the

Third schedule,

(a)

serial

number

23 and

the entries

against it

shall

be

omitted;

(b)

in serial number

28,

for

the

entry "Hand made paper"

the

entry

"Handmade

paper, handmade soap and handmade

agarbathi

" shall be

substituted,

4.

Validation of certain actions under

Act 15

of 1963.

"

(1)

Notwithstanding anything contained in any

judgement

, decree

or order

of any

Court,

Tribunal or

other

authority,

any

assessment

or re-assessment

made or section 5 of the

Kerala

General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (15 of 1963), shall be deemed

Kerala

Finance Act, 2004 and accordingly,"

(a)

all acts, proceedings or things done or taken by an officer or

authority in connection with the assessment, levy or collection of

such tax shall, for all purposes be deemed to be and to have

always been done or taken in accordance with law;

(b)

no suit or other proceedings shall be maintained or continued in any Court, Tribunal or before any authority for the cancellation

of any such assessment or re-assessment as the case may be, or for the refund of any such tax so collected;

(c)

no Court, Tribunal or any authority shall enforce any decree or

order directing the cancellation of any such assessment or

re-assessment or refund of any tax collected

thereunder

;

(d)

any tax assessed of re-assessed under the

Kerala

General Sales Tax

Act, 1963 (15 of 1963) during the period from 1st day of July, 1987

and before the 1st day of April, 2004 but not collected before the

1st day of April, .2004 shall be recovered in the manner provided

under the said Act and the Rules made

thereunder

.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any

judgement

, decree or

order of any Court, Tribunal or other authority, any dealer who opted for

payment of arrears or purported to have exercised such option under sub-section

(2) of section 23B of the

Kerala

General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (15 of 1963) after

the expiry of the date specified in that sub-section but before the 31st March,

2004 shall be deemed to have exercised his option validly as if such option has been made under that sub-section and accordingly,"

(a) all acts, proceedings or things done or taken by an officer or

authority in connection with the assessment, levy or collection of

such tax shall, for all purposes be deemed to be and to have

always been done or taken in accordance with law;

(b)

no suit or other, proceedings shall be maintained or continued in any Court, Tribunal or other authority for the cancellation of any such assessment, levy or collection of such tax;

(c)

any

assessee

failing to pay the tax of any other amount intimated by the assessing authority under sub-section (3) of section 23B within the time specified shall be liable to remit the entire tax with interest as if he had not filed any option under sub-section (2) of section 23B of this Act.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the

Kerala

Provisional Collection of Revenues Act,1985

or,in

the

Kerala

General Sales Tax Act, 1963 or any

judgement

, decree or order of any court, if any registered dealer had collected any sum towards tax under columns (4), (6) and (8) of serial numbers 12 to 32 of item (iv) of sub-clause 18 of clause 3 of the

Kerala

Finance Bill, 2004 from the 1st day of April, 2004 as per sub-clause (2) of clause I of the Said Bill read with the provisions in the

Kerala

Provisional Collection of Revenues Act, 1985 to the date of publication of the

Kerala

Finance Act, 2004 in the Gazette shall be deemed to have been validly collected under the provisions of the aforesaid Acts.

5. Amendment of Act 32 of 1976."In the

Kerala

Tax on Luxuries Act, 1976 (32 of l976),"

(1)

in

section 2,"

(

i

)

after

clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:" "(

dd

). ˜house Boat' means a floating vessel, used for boating provided with amenities and services rendered by way of business for monitory consideration.";

(ii)

in

clause (f), after the words "a hotel" and before the words "the rate of charges" the words "or a house boat" shall be inserted;

(2)

in

section 4,"

(

i

)

in

sub-section (1) after the words "in a hotel" and before the words "and in respect of" the words "or a house boat" shall be inserted;

(ii)

in

sub-section (2) after clause (c) the following clause shall be inserted, namely:"

(iii)

for

clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:"

(iv)

after

sub-section (2), the following section shall be inserted, namely:"

"(2A) The luxury tax shall be payable by the proprietor of the house boat at the rate of 4 per cent of the rent received on all amenities and services provided (exclusive of charges for food, drink and telephone calls) per boat per day.";

(3)

after

section 4B, the following section shall be inserted, namely:"

"4C. Registration of house boats."(1)Every proprietor of a house boat rented for accommodation for residence or leisurely cruising shall get his house boat registered and renewed annually.

(2) An application for registration or renewal thereof shall be made to such authority, in such manner and within such period, as may be prescribed, along with a registration fee of rupees one thousand or a renewal fee of rupees five hundred as the case may be per boat per annum";

(4)

in

section 7, in sub-section (2), for the words "one hundred rupees" the words "three hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(5)

in

section 8, in sub-section (4) for the words rupees "two hundred and fifty" the words rupees "seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(6)

in

section 9, in

entires

against clause (a), for the

words rupees "one hun

dred", the words "one hundred and fifty rupees" shall be substituted;

(7)

in

section 12, in sub-section (1), after the words "a

hotel"

and before

the words "or place of business" the words "or house boat" shall be inserted;

"(8)

in

section 12B, "

(

i

)

in

clause (5) for the words "one

hundred rupees" the words "three

hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(ii)

in

clause (6) for the words "two hundred

and fifty rupees" the words "

seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted;"

(9)

in

section 13,"

(

i

)

in

clause (b) of sub-section (1), after the

word "hotel" and

before

be inserted;

(ii)

in

clause (b) of sub-section (2), after

the words "hotel" and

before

the words "or business" the words "or house boat"

shall be inserted;

(iii)

in

clause (a) of sub-section (3),

after the word "hotel" and before

the words "or place of business" the words "or

house boat" shall be inserted;

(iv)

in

sub-section (3), after the word "

hotel" and before the words "or

business" the words "or house boat" shall be inserted;

6. Amendment of Act 15 of 1991

.

"In the

Kerala

Agricultural Income

Tax Act,

1991 (15 of 1991), "

(

1

)

after

section 37A, the following section

shall be

inserted,

namely:

"

"37B. Reduction of interest in certain

cases.

"(1)

Notwithstanding

or order

of

any

court, or

tribunal, an

assessee

; who is in arrears to pay tax or any other amount due

under

this

act

upto

the period ending with 31st March 2003 may opt for settling the

arrears

by availing a reduction of interest by paying the amount as shown below:

(

i

)

outstanding

tax amount along with 30 per cent of the interest already

due on the date of payment, if paid on or before 29th February, 2004.

(ii)

outstanding

tax amount along with 40 percent of the interest already due on the date of payment, if paid on or before 31st March, 2004:

Provided that

the reduction

in interest granted under this section shall be

applicable to eases in which revenue recovery proceedings have already been

initiated and where the amount is settled under this section, the assessing authority shall w

assessee

:

provided

further that assessing authority shall have the power to collect the

tax

advised for revenue recovery.

(2) An

assessee

who opt for payment of the arrears under this section shall

make

15tbFebruary

,2004

.

(3) On receipt of an application, under sub-section (2), the assessing authority

shall in

timate the quantum of tax or other amount due under this Act and the int

erest payable under sub-section (4) of section 37 as on the date of payment after allowing the

(4) Where

is

pending

agains

t any order or proceedings giving rise to any demand and an

assessee

has opted to

avail

himself of the benefit under this section in respect of such demand,

such appeal or revision may be continued, as if the

assessee

had not opted for the

benefit under this section.";

(2)

in

section 72, in sub-section (3) for the words "two hundred rupees",

the words "three hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(3)

in

section 74, in sub-section (6), for the words "five hundred rupees" the word "seven hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(4)

in

section 77, in sub-section (2), for the words "five hundred rupees",

(5)

in

section 78A, for the words "one hundred rupees" against clauses (a)

and (b), the words "one hundred and fifty rupees" shall, respectively, be substituted.

7. Validation of certain actions under Act 15 of1991."(1) Notwithstanding

anything contained in any

judgement

decree or order of any Court, Tribunal or other

authority, any

assessee

who opted for payment of arrears or purported to have exer

cised such option under sub-section (2) of section 37b of the

Kerala

Agricultural

1991

)

after the expiry of the date specified in that sub-

section but before the 31

st

March, 2004 shall be deemed to have exercised his option

validly as if such option had been made under that sub-section and accordingly,"

(a)

he deemed to be and to have always been done or taken in accordance with law;

(b)

(c)

assessee

failing to pay the tax or any other amount intimated by the

assessing authority under sub-section (3) of section 37B within the time specified shall be liable to remit the entire tax with interest as if he had not filed any option

under sub-section (2) of section 3 7B of this Act.

8. Amendment of Act 15 of 1994

."

In the

Kerala

Tax on Entry of Goods into

(1)

in

section 2, in sub-section (1), after clause (b), the following

clause shall be inserted, namely:"

"(

ba

) ˜Appellate Tribunal' means the Appellate Tribunal appointed under

Kerala

General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (15 of 1963).

(2)

in

section 6, after the words "Assistant Commissioner" and before the

words "of Sales Tax" the words "or Deputy-Commissioner" shall be inserted;

(3)

for

section 13, the following section shall be substituted, namely:"

"13. Appeals ."(I) An appeal from every original order under this Act,

shall lie before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner

(Appeals) as the case may be;

(2) No appeal shall be entertained by the Appellate Assistant Commis sioner or the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) unless it is filed within thirty days from the date of receipt of the order appealed against by the

assessee

accompanied by a fee

of rupees three hundred and unless the entire amount of tax and penalty, if any, has been remitted by the

assessee

in the Government treasury or in any bank notified by

the Government in this behalf.

(3)

Every authority referred to in sub-section (.1) shall, subject to such

rules, as may be made in this behalf, have the following powers, namely:"

(a)

in an appeal against an order, to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul assessment, or set aside the assessment and refer the case back to the assessing authority for making a fresh assessment in accordance with the direction given by it or him; and,

(b)

in

any other case, to pass such order in the appeal

as may be deemed just and proper";

(4)

in

section 14, in clause (b) or sub-section (2), the words "or the

Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax" shall be omitted.;

(5)

for section 14A, the following section shall be substituted,

namely:-

"I4A. Appeal to Appellate Tribunal.-(1)Any person aggrieved by an

order passed under section 13 may, within a period of sixty days from the date of

Provided that Appellate Tribunal may admit an appeal presented after the expiration of the said period if it is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause

(2) Every appeal shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified

in

such

manner, as may be prescribed, and shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees seven hundred

.

(3) In d

isposing of an appeal, the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the

parties

a reasonable opportunity of being heard, either in person or by a representative,-

(a)

in

the case of an order of assessment or penalty,"

(

i

)

confirm

, reduce.

enhance

or annul the assessment or penalty

(ii)

set

aside the assessment and direct the assessing authority to make

a fresh assessment after such enquiry as may be

directed; or

(iii)

pass

such other orders as it may think fit; or

(b)

in

the case of any other order, confirm, cancel or vary such order:

Provided that if the appeal involves a question of law on which the

Appellate Tribunal has previously given its decision in another appeal and the

matter is pending for decision before High Court or the Supreme Court as the

case may be, die Appellate Tribunal may defer the hearing of the appeal before it

,

till the matter is finally disposed of by the High Court or the Supreme Court as the case may be .

(4) Every order passed by-the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section(3)

shall be communicated in the manner prescribed, to the appellant, respondent, the

authority from whose order the appeal was preferred, the Deputy Commissioner

concerned and to the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes.";

(6)

after

section 14A, the following section shall be inserted, namely :"

"14AA.

Notwithstanding

anything contained in sections 13 and 14A of

this Act, any appeal or revision pending before any authority under this Act as

on 31st day of March, 2004; shall be finally disposed of by such authority on or

(7)

in

section 14B,"

(

i

) in clause (a), for the words "one hundred rupee" the

words "

one

hunderd

and fifty rupees" shall be substituted;

(ii)

for

clause (b) following clause shall be substituted, namely:"

"(b) Before the Appellate Tribunal"One hundred and fifty

rupees";

(8)

in

the Schedule, after serial number 43 and the entries against it the

following serial numbers and entries shall be added, namely:-

"44.

45.

Optical

fibre

cables

46.

Mobile phone

47.

Pollution testing equipment for motor vehicles

48.

White cement

49.

Lift, Elevators and Escalators operated by electrical,

hydrolic

and

other mechanical power

50.

Fresh Milk including

pasteurised

,

Tonned

or re-constituted milk

51.

Currency counting machine

52.

Steam Boilers

53.

54.

Cables for telecommunication

55.

Doors and Windows other than those made of iron and steel

56.

Doors and Windows made of iron and steel

57.

Transmission towers including those in dismantled form

58.

Graphic art film

59.

X-ray and CT Scan film".