GEORGE KOCHUPARAMBIL Vs. STATE OF KERALA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As these writ petitions involve a common issue, they are taken up together for consideration and disposed by this common judgment.

(2.) The petitioners are dealers in granite metal who have opted to pay tax at the compounded rate in accordance with S.8(b) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'KVAT Act') during various assessment years from 2008-09 to 2013-14. S.8(b) of the KVAT Act reads as follows:

(3.) The provisions of S.8(b) have remained substantially the same during the years under consideration in these writ petitions, and the only amendments introduced in the Section over the years is with regard to the rate at which tax had to be paid on individual crushing machines. For deciding the issue in the present writ petitions, the said amendments are not relevant.