PARVATHI CHITRA MANDIR Vs. ENTERTAINMENT TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant is aggrieved by the order dated 9/06/1994 passed in Writ Petition No. 1737 of 1994, by which the learned single Judge has refused to entertain the writ petition on the ground that the appellant can have his say before the departmental authorities when the coercive action has been initiated against him in relation to the collection of the entertainment tax.

(2.) The facts as set out by the appellant may be stated as follows : Appellant is the owner of a cinema theatre at Kerur, Taluka Badami, Bijapur District. He has opted for composition of his entertainment tax liability under and in accordance with S. 4A of the Karnataka Entertainment Tax Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to for short as 'the Act'). Accordingly he was granted a permit in Form No. IV-B by the Entertainment Tax Officer, 1st Circle, Bagalkot effective from 1-4-1991 after determining his liability by treating the population of Kerur as less than 15,000. Since as per the last census published on 1-2-1992 the population of Kerur was found to be 15198, a revised permit dated 3-1-1994 had been issued to the appellant, whereunder his liability has been enhanced from 15% xxxxx of his gross collection capacity to 20% xxxxx thereof with effect from 1/02/1992 in keeping with the rates of taxes prescribed in the table appended to S. 4A of the Act.

(3.) Learned counsel appearing for the appellant has assailed the impugned revised permit on two grounds, namely - (i) it could not have been made effective retrospectively i.e. from 1-2-1992 since it deprives, the appellant from collecting the enhanced tax from the cinema goers; and (ii) the impugned determination has been made without affording any opportunity of hearing to the appellant, and as such it is ab initio void being violative of the principles of natural justice as also the statutory requirements.