Original petition dismissing challenge to tax penalty orders imposed for underreporting auditorium booking rates. The Court held no jurisdictional error or gross illegality existed, upholding the concurrent findings of the Appellate Authorities.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN &
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE ANU SIVARAMAN
FRIDAY, THE 29TH DAY OF JANUARY 2016/9TH MAGHA, 1937
OP (TAX).No. 5 of 2016 ()
AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN TA 53/2015 of S.T.A.TRIBUNAL, ADDL.BENCH,PALAKKAD DATED 04-09-2015
PETITIONER(S):
M.A.NAZAR, PROPRIETOR,
M/S.CROWN PALACE AUDITORIUM, KUZHALMANNAM PALAKKAD.
BY ADVS.SRI.N.MURALEEDHARAN NAIR
SRI.V.K.SHAMUSUDHEEN
RESPONDENT(S):
1. THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER,
2. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER(APPEALS)I, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCIAL TAXES, KOTTAYAM-686 002.
3. THE KERALA AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX AND SALES TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL,
ADDITIONAL BENCH, PALAKKAD-678 004.
BY ADV.BOBBY JOHN, GOVERNMENT PLEADER
THIS OP TAX HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 29-01-2016, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
OP (TAX).No. 5 of 2016 ()
APPENDIX
PETITIONER(S)' EXHIBITS
P1 COPY OF THE NOTICE NO.IPD-III 2 2013-2014 ISSUED BY 1ST RESPONDENT FOR THE YEARS 2012-13 AND 2013-14 DATED 29.07.2013
P2 COPY OF THE PENALY ORDER PASSED BY 1ST RESPONDENT FOR THE YEAR 2012-13 DATED 25.10.2013
P3 COPY OF THE PENALTY ORDER PASSED BY 1ST RESPONDENT FOR THE YEAR 2013-14 DATED 25.10.2013
P4 COPY OF THE COMMON APPELLATE ORDER PASSED BY 2ND RESPONDENT FOR THE YEARS 2012-13 AND 2013-14 DATED 16.10.2014
P5 COPY OF THE TRIBUNAL ORDER IN T.A.52/15 PASSED BY 3RD RESPONDENT FOR THE YEAR 2012-13 DATED 04.09.2015
P6 COPY OF THE TRIBUNAL ORDER IN T.A.53/15 PASSED BY 3RD RESPONDENT FOR THE YEAR 2013-14 DATED 04.09.2015
P7 COPY OF THE CONFIRMATION LETTER
P8 COPY OF THE CONFIRMATION LETTER.
RESPONDENT(S)' EXHIBITS
NIL
//TRUE COPY//
PA TO JUDGE.
jg-8/2
THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN & ANU SIVARAMAN, JJ.
.................................................................... OP(TAX) No.5 of 2016
.................................................................... Dated this the 29th day of January, 2016.
J U D G M E N T
Thottathil B.Radhakrishnan, J.
OP(TAX)5/16
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working in the auditorium. The Department found that the charges for bookings were at a particular rate much above what was shown in the returns. Assimilating the entire facts, orders were issued imposing penalty by the authority at the first instance. The first Appellate Authority reduced the penalty for both years. The second Appellate Authority did not find any ground to interfere with the same.
3.Having examined the nature of the findings and the quality of the materials that were relied on by the Department, we are of the view that there is no question of error of jurisdiction or gross illegality resulting in any injustice which warrants interference by this Court in exercise of authority under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Even put in the parameters of statutory revision under other fiscal legislations, there is no question of law which has been left undecided or which has been erroneously decided by the second Appellate Authority. The concurrent findings of the second and first Appellate Authorities on the basis
OP(TAX)5/16
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of the materials on record do not provide any further room for indulgence by this Court. This original petition, therefore, fails.
In the result, this original petition is dismissed.
(THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN, JUDGE)
(ANU SIVARAMAN, JUDGE)
jg-29/1
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the High Court should interfere under Article 227 of the Constitution of India in the final orders of the Appellate Authorities imposing penalty for alleged underreporting of auditorium bookin
Whether the Department's investigation and subsequent penalty orders suffer from error of jurisdiction or gross illegality warranting judicial intervention.
M.A.Nazar, Proprietor, M/s.Crown Palace Auditorium, Kuzhalmannam Palakkad
The Intelligence Officer, Squad No.III, Department of Commercial Taxes Palakkad
The Deputy Commissioner(Appeals)I, Department of Commercial Taxes, Kottayam
The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Additional Bench, Palakkad
Thottathil B.Radhakrishnan
Anu Sivaraman
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
