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TMI Blog2019 (12) TMI 709X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt of outstanding dues of tax, penalty and interest with a view to ending prolonged litigation in respect of the same. The intention behind introduction of the Amnesty Scheme was to benefit both the assessees as also the State, through an expeditious end to pending litigation, and an expedited recovery of moneys to the State exchequer. The statutory provisions governing the Amnesty Scheme do not provide for a situation where the assessee is precluded from opting for the Amnesty Scheme whenever the Revenue chooses to file an appeal against an order that was passed in favour of the assessee, by any of the statutory authorities in the adjudicatory hierarchy. It follows, therefore, that a Circular by the Tax Department of the State cannot g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the assessee. The cases in which appeals filed by the State, however, shall be continued and hence the assessee shall not be eligible for availing provisions of this scheme. 3. It is the contention of the petitioners that since the provisions of Section 31A of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act [KVAT Act], enable an assessee under the KVAT Act to opt for an Amnesty Scheme for settling their tax, penalty and interest arrears, without any condition specifying that the option would not be available in cases where the Revenue had carried any matter in appeal before the Appellate Authority, such a condition cannot be insisted by the respondent statutory authorities through a clarificatory Circular, which was intended to clarify t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to the State exchequer. The statutory provisions governing the Amnesty Scheme do not provide for a situation where the assessee is precluded from opting for the Amnesty Scheme whenever the Revenue chooses to file an appeal against an order that was passed in favour of the assessee, by any of the statutory authorities in the adjudicatory hierarchy. It follows, therefore, that a Circular by the Tax Department of the State cannot go beyond the statutory provisions under the guise of clarifying the scope of the statutory provisions, which are quite unambiguous and do not require any clarification. I therefore allow these writ petitions, by striking off the offending sentence in paragraph 5 of the Circular No.3/2019 dated 01/04/2019, which reads ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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