N VENUGOPAL Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR THRISSUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 1. The petitioner challenges the imposition of luxury tax under Section 5A of the Kerala Building Tax Act, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").

(2.) THE petitioner's building was assessed to tax under Section 5, which is a one time tax, on a plinth area of 301.77 square meters. Subsequently, Exhibit P4 order was passed levying tax under Section 5A of the Act. An appeal filed by the petitioner was also dismissed by Exhibit P5. So was the fate of the revision, which was also rejected by Exhibit P6.

(3.) HAVING gone through the records, I am of the opinion that the challenge made against luxury tax cannot be faulted on the ground that the petitioner had not challenged the initial one time levy under Section 5 of the Act. This Court has also held that luxury tax being a recurring levy, even remittance of the same in the previous years does not preclude an assessee from challenging the same in the subsequent year, since every year raises a fresh cause of action.