M AHAMMEDKUTTY HAJI Vs. TAHSILDAR KOZHIKODE KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The present appeal is filed by the appellant against the judgment and order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Kerala in Writ Appeal No. 2575 of 1999 dated on 3rd November, 2003. By the said order, the Division Bench confirmed the orders passed by the assessing authority, confirmed by the District Collector, Kozhikode and also confirmed by a single Judge of the High Court of Kerala in O.P. No. 14720 of 1994 on 15th October, 1999.

(3.) Few facts for the purpose of deciding the controversy raised in the present appeal may now be stated. The appellant herein constructed a Shopping Complex bearing Door Nos. 6/499 to 6/537 in Kozhikode Corporation in the year 1987. The appellant filed return under the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for assessment of building tax for the said building. The assessing authority quantified capital value at Rs. 12,32,820/- and determined building tax payable by the appellant at Rs. 97,032/- by an order dated 15th February, 1988. The said assessment was made on an assumed rental basis submitted by the appellant. The order stated that as per the return in Form II submitted by the appellant and on enquiries conducted by the assessing authority it had been shown that the building had been constructed by the appellant after 1st April, 1973. According to the assessing authority, the appellant was required to pay building tax of Rs. 97,032/-. He was, therefore, asked to pay the said amount of tax as per details mentioned in the schedule to the Notice of Demand. The case of the appellant is that he had paid the said amount. Subsequently, however, the local authority fixed capital value of the building at Rs. 42,84,000/- and annual value at Rs. 4,28,400/-. Proceedings were, therefore, initiated under sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the said Act by the assessing authority for rectification of mistake in the assessment order dated 15th February, 1988. The appellant was called upon to show cause as to why the rectification of mistake should not be made and after affording opportunity of hearing to the appellant, an order was passed on 5th February, 1991 and he was asked to pay Rs. 4,02, 150/- as building tax on the basis of the valuation fixed by the local authority. Being aggrieved by the said order, the appellant filed revision before the District Collector. Since the revision was not disposed of by the District Collector, the appellant filed O.P. No. 3443 of 1991 in the High Court of Kerala. The High Court directed the District Collector to decide the revision. The revision was then dismissed by the Collector upholding the revised assessment order. Against that order, the appellant filed O.P. 14720 of 1994 which came up before a single Judge of the High Court of Kerala. After considering the contentions raised by the appellant as well as the respondent, the learned single Judge dismissed the petition. Further appeal before the Division Bench also met with the same fate. The final order has been challenged by the appellant in this Court.