Clarificatory sales tax amendment applies for the full financial year; belated fresh option under the compounded levy was refused.

A clarificatory amendment to the compounded tax computation under Section 7 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 was treated as applying to the entire financial year from its commencement, so the assessee could not confine the levy to only one component of the provision. The Court also rejected a belated request to exercise a fresh statutory option under Section 7, noting that the opportunity to resile from the earlier option had not been taken within time and that remand was impracticable after considerable delay. The writ petition therefore failed, and no relief was granted.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the amended computation under Section 7 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 applied from the commencement of the financial year despite being introduced mid-year; (ii) whether the assessee was entitled to exercise a fresh option under Section 7 at a later stage.

Issue (i): Whether the amended computation under Section 7 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 applied from the commencement of the financial year despite being introduced mid-year.

Analysis: The applicable question had already been answered by binding precedent, which held that the amendment governed the whole financial year and that the compounded tax was to be computed by applying the higher of the statutory alternatives under Section 7. The later circular was treated only as clarificatory and consistent with that interpretation.

Conclusion: The amended computation applied from the commencement of the financial year, and the assessee had no right to confine the levy only to one component of the provision.

Issue (ii): Whether the assessee was entitled to exercise a fresh option under Section 7 at a later stage.

Analysis: A fresh option was sought after considerable delay. The Court declined to direct a remand because the passage of time made such relief impracticable. It also noted that the clarificatory circular had earlier afforded an opportunity to assessees to resile from the earlier option, but that opportunity was not taken in time.

Conclusion: The request for a fresh option was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed in its entirety and the assessee obtained no relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory amendment to a compounded tax provision is clarificatory in nature and governs the financial year as a whole, it applies from the commencement of that year, and a belated request for a fresh statutory option need not be entertained.

---