Mohammed Farooq Vs Commercial Tax Officer (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court disposed of a petition challenging an order dated 31.07.2025 passed by the Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Kollegala, in proceedings initiated under Section 42(9)(c) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 for recovery of tax, interest, and penalty arrears relating to the assessment year 2013-14. The petitioner contended that original ‘H’ Forms had not been produced before the Magistrate and relied on certain observations made in paragraph 9 of the Magistrate’s order regarding the requirement of original ‘H’ Forms and the possibility of granting exemption upon their production.
The State argued that the Magistrate’s jurisdiction was confined to recovery of tax arrears and did not extend to determining the validity or admissibility of statutory forms, which had already been considered by the Assessing Authority. The High Court agreed, holding that the Magistrate’s powers were limited to recovery proceedings and did not include assessment or examination of the validity of statutory forms. The Court observed that any documents sought to be relied upon, including statutory Forms ‘C’ and ‘H’, should be placed before the Assessing Authority. Accordingly, liberty was granted to the petitioner to approach the Assessing Authority, which was directed to consider the matter in accordance with law. The petition was disposed of.
