Composition scheme election cannot be withdrawn unilaterally without express statutory permission under tax law.

An assessee who validly opts for composition under a taxing statute cannot later withdraw that option and demand regular assessment unless the statute expressly allows retraction. The Kerala High Court followed the earlier Division Bench view that, in the absence of a specific statutory provision permitting withdrawal from the compounded-rate scheme, the taxpayer is bound by the election once made. It also rejected reliance on the prescribed form and Rule 30(3) to claim a right of cancellation, noting that any power to cancel permission remains with the assessing authority and is not enforceable as an assessee's entitlement.

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Issues: Whether an assessee who had opted to pay tax at the compounded rate could later withdraw from the compounding scheme and insist on assessment in the regular manner.

Analysis: The assessee had been permitted to pay tax at the compounded rate under Section 7(14) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act. The Court followed the earlier Division Bench view that, in the absence of any statutory provision enabling retraction from the option once exercised, the assessee could not back out of the agreed course and compel assessment under Section 17 of the Act. The contention based on the prescribed form and Rule 30(3) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules was rejected because the power to cancel the permission, even on default, remained with the assessing authority and could not be demanded as a matter of right by the assessee.

Conclusion: The assessee could not unilaterally withdraw from the compounding scheme or insist on regular assessment; the Tribunal's order was unsustainable and the assessing authority's order was restored.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded, and the assessment under the compounding order stood revived in place of the Tribunal's contrary view.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessee who has validly opted for composition under a taxing statute cannot retract from that option and claim regular assessment unless the statute expressly permits such withdrawal.

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