Sreekumar B.S. Vs State Tax Officer (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that provisions of Section 25(1) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act [KVAT] does not permit the Assessing Authority to pass a fresh order for the same assessment year. Thus, second assessment order is held to be non-est in law and cannot be sustained.
Facts- The petitioner was a registered dealer under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. An assessment of the petitioner for the year 2015-16 was completed u/s. 25(1) of the KVAT Act by order dated 15.12.2018. In terms of order, there was a demand for an amount of Rs.74,45,653.00/-(inclusive of interest of Rs.18,47,418/-). Surprisingly, yet another order, which is on record as dated 29.03.2021 was issued for the same year (2015-16) u/s. 25(1) of the KVAT Act where the demand on the petitioner was only a sum of Rs.40,912.00/-.
Conclusion- Held that the provisions of Section 25(1) of the KVAT Act does not permit the Assessing Authority to pass a fresh order for the same assessment year. If such course of action is permitted, it would result in contradictory orders being passed without the original order being set aside or modified in a manner known to law. In such circumstances, I have no hesitation to hold that the second assessment order dated 29.03.2021 is non-est in law and cannot be sustained.
