9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (8) TMI 1348X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Officer. The petitioner, though has responded to the notices, nevertheless seeks to set aside the said proceedings on the plea that the proposal and demand is unwarranted and not authorised by law. 2.. The petitioner, so far as his contentions show, has his busi ness at Angamali, and has office at Pondicherry, and the car is used for his business, in both places. The law does not prohibit him to use the vehicle throughout the territory of India, and since he had not registered the vehicle in the State of Kerala, within 15 months from the date of its registration in Pondicherry, the demand and levy in April, 1999 is misconceived. It is further submitted that the vehicle was not normally kept or used in the State of Kerala continuously for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... teen months or more from the date on which such vehicle is registered in the State. The petitioner contends that a registration in the State has not been there in respect of the car or even contemplated in respect thereof. The liability for tax had never arisen therefore, and the suggestion is that only the owners who were foolish enough to reregister their vehicles before the fifteen months period, courted liability for pay ment on themselves. 5.. For facilitating easy reference, the relevant portion of the section is extracted hereinbelow: "3. Levy of tax.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, there shall be levied and collected a tax on the entry of any goods into any local area for consumption, use or sale therein. The tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Act had been incorporated, so as not to prejudice the interest of individuals who had clear and impeccable claims of domicile outside the State. The enactment had been brought so as to prevent the evasion of tax liabilities which otherwise an ordinary resident of the State had to suffer. In spite of the clear cut provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules, evasion of tax was widely prevalent eroding the tax revenue of the State and the tendency was attempted to be curbed. The lesser sales tax rate for example prevailing at Pondicherry made the Keralites to go over there, acquire the vehicle and drive back and use it in Kerala comfortably. This affected the Revenue of the State, and the enactment had been brought to discourage the pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... January 1, 1998. And the vehicle was brought down to Cochin forthwith. It was ever thereafter used in Cochin, and the owner reregistered it on February 1, 1998. Especially in view of section 18, it definitely attracts tax liability. 10.. In a second case, consider that the vehicle was purchased and registered on January 1, 1998 and brought to Kerala on the following day. It is used in Kerala and was reregistered on May 1, 1999, that is, after fifteen months of its initial registration. Though the owner, theoretically can claim the benefit of the proviso to section 3, it necessarily has to be examined as to whether an exemp tion will be admissible because of the use of the vehicle in the State, since as from February 1, 1998 it had been in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... registration has not much significance if it was in use in the State before com pleting 15 months of its original registration. A private vehicle has no restrictions in the matter of interState travel, and there may be logic in the submission that a tourist who visits the State may not be liable for levy of entry tax. But the expression use in section 3 of the Entry Tax Act does have a definite connotation. As in the case of the petitioner here, he has his establishment at Angamali, and in connection with his business he undertakes travel by the car inside the State and occasionally outside the State. Such activities come well within the word "use" and by such use taxability arises. It is not as if everything is free when once the vehicle c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iven due weight. A proviso scoops out specified contingency and can have only a restrictive operation. The Act was intended to curb a specific mischief and this by itself merits a purposive construction, in its application. A liberal or technical approach, as suggested by the counsel for the petitioner, without giving thought to the consequences is not called for. It will end only in defeating the underlying statutory intention. The conduct of the petitioner is proximate to evasion rather than avoidance. The powers now conferred on authorised officers by section 9A can be understood as an expression of anxiety of the State to get round the mass evasion practised. 15.. The original petition is therefore dismissed. The petitioner should b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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