Composition tax relief requires timely Rule 6-B compliance; reduced rate cannot be claimed without the prescribed application.

The amended composition rate under Section 5-G of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act merely reduced the tax rate from 4% to 2% and did not create a separate entitlement to composition relief. A dealer seeking that benefit still had to comply with Rule 6-B, including filing the application within 30 days from the commencement of the year or business, subject to limited condonation. Because the dealer had not made a timely application and no application was pending when the amendment took effect, the reduced rate could not be claimed. The rejection of the composition request was therefore upheld.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to the benefit of composition of tax at the reduced rate introduced by amendment, despite not having applied within the time prescribed under Rule 6-B of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Rules.

Analysis: The amendment to Section 5-G of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 only reduced the composition rate from 4 per cent to 2 per cent and did not create a new right independent of the existing procedural requirement. Under Rule 6-B, a dealer seeking composition had to apply within 30 days from the commencement of the year or the business, as the case may be, subject to limited condonation. The petitioner had not made a timely application and no application was pending when the amendment took effect. The Court held that the reduced rate could not be claimed without compliance with the prescribed procedure.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to the composition benefit, and the rejection of the application was upheld.

---