Sherly Thomas Nalpathamkalam Vs State of Kerala (Kerala High Court)
In a ruling with implications for property owners across Kerala, the High Court of Kerala has affirmed that an Occupancy Certificate issued by a local authority is not the conclusive measure for determining a building’s plinth area when it comes to assessing taxes under the Kerala Building Tax Act. The court, in the case of Sherly Thomas Nalpathamkalam Vs. State of Kerala, upheld the state’s power to conduct independent re-measurements and levy luxury tax based on the findings, even if they contradict the area mentioned in the Occupancy Certificate.
The case centered on a residential building owned by the petitioner, Sherly Thomas Nalpathamkalam, who challenged a luxury tax assessment. Her primary contention was that her building’s total plinth area was 270.17 square meters, a figure stated in her Occupancy Certificate issued by the Changanasserry Municipality and also approved by the Town Planning Officer. Based on this, she argued against the imposition of luxury tax.
However, the assessing authority, the fourth respondent in the case, had initiated proceedings (Ext.P2) asserting that a measurement revealed the building’s plinth area to be over 278.7 square meters. This exceeding of the threshold made the petitioner liable for luxury tax under Section 5A of the Kerala Building Tax Act. Additionally, a demand for Rs. 2,460 was raised, representing the remaining amount due from a revised one-time building tax.
