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TMI Blog2008 (6) TMI 555X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... KLR Act, there is no power of forfeiture and particularly on a reading of the statutory provisions referred to and relied upon by learned Additional Government Advocate. Writ petition allowed in part. Forfeiture order bearing No. ST. TAX. CR. 23/05-06 dated June 23, 2006 passed by the Tahsildar is quashed by issue of a writ of certiorari, but in respect of all other aspects, the challenge fails. It is also made clear that it is open to the recovering authority to take recourse to recovery proceedings even against the property under annexure C in the manner permitted under the law and if there are still any arrears by the petitioner to recover in such manner. - Writ Petition No. 9971 of 2006 - - - Dated:- 26-6-2008 - SHYLENDRA KUMAR D.V. , J. ORDER:- D.V. SHYLENDRA KUMAR J. This writ petition is by a partnership firm which was a registered dealer under the provisions of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (for short, the Act ) and which has questioned the revenue recovery proceedings resorted to by the revenue officials at the instance of the officials of the Commercial Taxes Department for realizing the sales tax dues payable by the petitioner which was to the tune ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rnment promoter agencies except in Bangalore urban agglomeration and Mysore City Corporation [Please see para V(a) in G.O. No. CI/138/SPC/90 dated September 27, 1990] do. Three years do. 5 do. Situated in zone-II areas of Bangalore urban and Bangalore rural districts [Please see para V(b) in G.O. No. CI/138/SPC/90 dated September 27, 1990] do. Four years do 6 Tiny/small-scale/medium and large-scale industrial units in the thrust sector as defined in annexure-II to G.O. No. CI 138/SPC/90 dated September 27, 1990. Situated in zone-II (other than Bangalore urban and Bangalore rural districts) and zone-III [Please see para V(c) in G.O. No. CI/138/SPC/90 dated September 27, 1990] do. Five years do. 7 do. Situated in the notified area zone-IV as per annexure-I of G.O. No. CI/138/SPC/90 dated September 27, 1990. do. Six years do and because of this position, and also being aggrieved by a subsequent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at annexure H) which in fact is in the nature of a restraint order on the petitioner not to alienate any of its properties on the premise that the tahsildar has no power of forfeiture even while acting under the provisions of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 (for short, the KLR Act ) while recovering any arrears of land revenue and further that the proclamation under section 6 of the Revenue Recoveries Act, 1890 (for short, the RR Act ) issued by the Deputy Commissioner addressed to the petitioner cannot be valid for two reasons, one that the provisions of the Revenue Recoveries Act, 1890 is not applicable and secondly that the so-called proclamation is defective in not mentioning the properties of which proclamation has been issued. Notice had been issued to the respondent-State and the officers of the Commercial Taxes Department. The respondents have entered appearance through counsel Smt. Niloufer Akbar, learned Additional Government Advocate and have filed statement of objections defending the impugned actions. Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, Sri Sanath Kumar Shetty, learned counsel would urge that the withdrawal of the exemption notification in terms of subs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... recovered (a) as if it were an arrear of land revenue. and the provisions of sections 160(2), 161(c) and 165 of the KLR Act. These relevant statutory provisions read as under: 160. Arrear of land revenue and defaulter (2) A statement of account, certified by the Deputy Commissioner or by the Assistant Commissioner shall, for the purpose of this chapter be conclusive evidence of the existence of the arrear of land revenue, of its amount and of the person who is the defaulter: 161.. Process for recovery of arrears. An arrear of land revenue may, after serving a written notice of demand on the defaulter under section 162, be recovered by any one or more of the following processes, namely: (a) and (b) . . . (c) by attachment and sale of the defaulter's immoveable property under sections 165 to 168; 165. Attachment and sale of immovable property. When the (Tahsildar) is of opinion that the processes referred to in clauses (a) and (b) of section 161 are inexpedient or insufficient for the recovery of an arrear, he may, in addition to or instead of any of these processes, cause any immoveable property of the defaulter to be attached and sold. Submission ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fying the exemptions under section 8A of the KST Act also has the power to withdraw, modify, vary, cancel such exemptions. The present case is of one where exemption is withdrawn not retrospectively but only prospectively, in the sense, the exemption in favour of the industries like that of the petitioner ceases with effect from the date of issue of the notification dated August 28, 1993. Though Sri Sanath Kumar Shetty, learned counsel for the petitioner, would contend that the decision relied upon is attracted to the present case for the reason that the exemption in the earlier notification was forever and the language of the notification indicates indefinite period under the column relating to the period of exemption, I am afraid neither principles of law in the decision is attracted to the case nor can the argument be accepted for the reason that it is not in the nature of an exemption forever but an exemption without a definite period, in the sense, it can be varied at any moment. It is not possible to accept the argument of Mr. Shetty that words without any time-limit are one granting permanent exemption forever as that would militate against the very purpose and ob ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oner not to alienate his properties. An action which even on a general reading of the recovery procedure under the KST Act is justified as the recovery officer can always call upon the assessee in default to make payment and not to indulge in transactions for defeating the interest of the Government by pre-emptive sales, etc. In fact, it is not even an attachment notice in the sense of proclamation as there is no mention of any particular property in the notice. It is an innocuous order on the petitioner apprising him not to alienate his properties. In this view of the matter, it is not necessary to further examine the question of legality of this notice on the premise of the argument addressed, but on the authority of the decision rendered in Ali Agro Extract Pvt. Ltd.'s case [2006] 146 STC 373 (Karn); [2003] 55 KLJ 322 the revenue is not prevented from having recourse to simultaneous recovery proceedings under several modes. If that is so, the recovery under the RR Act or under the KLR Act is not to be frowned upon. In fact, the RR Act is an enabling piece of legislation to recover the arrears of land revenue found due under the KLR Act. Therefore, there is no merit in the ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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