Kottila Veetil Krishnakumar Vs State of Kerala (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that transferring 1st floor of the building to wife for reducing limit below prescribed threshold limit for levy of luxury tax is tax evasion and not tax planning. Hence, petition dismissed.
Facts- The petitioner has approached this Court challenging the levy of luxury tax under the provisions of the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975. It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner had initially constructed a two story residential building with a total area of 315.08 Sq.m. It is stated that the assessment was completed levying luxury tax on the building and the petitioner continued to pay luxury tax on the building.
According to the petitioner, by registered document No.1356/2018 of SRO Mathamangalam, the 1st floor of the residential building has been settled/transferred to the wife of the petitioner (One Kaniyeri Sreekala) and she is the owner of the 1 st floor of the building. It is the case of the petitioner that with the transfer of the 1st floor of the building to his wife, the area of the building in occupation of the petitioner has been reduced to 162.30 Sq.m, which is below the limit for levy of luxury tax.
