Tax concession notifications must be applied as written, with prescribed forms issued and tax recovered from retained contract amounts.

A tax concession notification under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act operated on the nature of the purchaser and the transaction, and the benefit could not be denied by reading in an additional condition not found in the notification. Under S.R.O. No. 1728/93, sales to Government departments qualified for the reduced rate on production of the prescribed certificate, and the authorities were required to issue the necessary forms accordingly. The amounts retained under the contracts were also available for recovery and adjustment of the tax component through the assessing authority, rather than by leaving the tax unpaid.

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Issues: (i) Whether the respondents were bound to issue the prescribed forms under S.R.O. No. 1728/93 so that the appellant could claim the reduced rate of tax. (ii) Whether the tax payable in respect of the contracts could be withheld and recovered through the assessing authority.

Issue (i): Whether the respondents were bound to issue the prescribed forms under S.R.O. No. 1728/93 so that the appellant could claim the reduced rate of tax.

Analysis: Section 10 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 enables the Government to grant exemption or reduction in rate by notification. Under S.R.O. No. 1728/93, sales of goods to Government departments attract the reduced rate of tax when the prescribed certificate in duplicate is produced. The notification does not make the benefit depend on whether the seller is separately registered under the KGST Act; the relevant factor is the nature of the purchaser and the transaction covered by the notification. Since the appellant sought the prescribed forms for availing the notified concession, the refusal by the respondents was not justified.

Conclusion: The respondents were directed to issue the necessary forms under S.R.O. No. 1728/93, and the appellant's claim to the reduced rate of tax was accepted in principle.

Issue (ii): Whether the tax payable in respect of the contracts could be withheld and recovered through the assessing authority.

Analysis: The amounts due under the contracts were held by the respondents, who were liable under the Act to account for the tax component. The assessing authority was entitled to take steps for recovery and payment of the tax due, rather than requiring the appellant to pursue an ineffective route for settlement.

Conclusion: The assessing authority was permitted to take steps for payment of the tax due from the amounts retained by the respondents.

Final Conclusion: The writ appeals succeeded, and the appellant obtained the benefit of the prescribed forms and the corresponding tax treatment under the notification.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tax concession notification turns on the transaction and the identity of the purchaser, the prescribed benefit cannot be denied by imposing an additional condition not found in the notification itself; the authorities must act consistently with the notified scheme.

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