Salary protection limits tax recovery from arrears; deductions cannot the attachment exemption under civil procedure rules.

Recovery of sales tax arrears from an employee's salary under section 25 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 was confined to the extent protected from attachment under section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The Court treated the recovery direction as permitting only a reasonable monthly deduction and not depriving the employee of the whole salary. It applied the principle reflected in the proviso to section 226(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, that salary exempt from attachment in execution of a civil decree remains protected from tax recovery. The employee's salary therefore remained subject only to the limits recognised by section 60 CPC.

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Issues: Whether recovery of sales tax arrears from the petitioner's salary under section 25 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 had to be confined to the extent protected from attachment under section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Analysis: The recovery direction was understood as intended to operate only to the extent of a reasonable monthly deduction and not so as to deprive the employee of his entire salary. The Court accepted the principle reflected in the proviso to section 226(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, namely that salary exempt from attachment in execution of a civil decree remains protected from requisition for tax recovery. On that basis, section 25 was applied so that recovery from salary would remain within the limits recognised by section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Conclusion: Recovery from the petitioner's salary was confined to the extent permissible under section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the petitioner succeeded.

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