Statutory amnesty settlements must be followed strictly; failure to meet payment timelines leaves recovery proceedings intact.

The Kerala General Sales Tax amnesty settlement under section 23B(4) required the dealer to pay 25% of the settled amount within 15 days and the balance in three monthly instalments. An omission in the intimation to expressly set out the instalment schedule did not remove the statutory benefit, but the benefit depended on strict compliance with the prescribed time limits. As the dealer did not remit the initial 25% within time and produced no timely request for clarification, the settlement never became effective. In those circumstances, no separate cancellation order was required before recovery proceedings could continue.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to insist on instalment payment under the amnesty settlement under section 23B(4) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 and to resist recovery steps on the ground that the settlement order did not expressly grant instalments or that no separate cancellation order had been passed.

Analysis: The settlement scheme required the dealer to remit 25% of the settled amount within 15 days of receipt of intimation and to pay the balance in three equal monthly instalments. The omission in the intimation to spell out the instalment schedule did not take away the statutory benefit, but the benefit was conditional on compliance with the prescribed time limits. The petitioner neither remitted the initial 25% within time nor produced any material to show a timely representation seeking clarification. Since the settlement was never acted upon in accordance with the statutory conditions, it never came into effect and no separate cancellation order was necessary before initiating recovery.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to the relief sought, and the recovery proceedings were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory settlement or amnesty benefit must be availed strictly in the manner and within the time prescribed by the scheme, and non-compliance with the mandatory conditions prevents the settlement from taking effect.

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