Collected tax cannot be retained as exempt relief when the dealer has already recovered it from customers.

A dealer who accepted an APGST liability could not obtain instalment payment through writ proceedings and was directed to approach the competent authority for that relief. On Rural Development Cess, the court held that waiver or exemption was unavailable because the dealer had already collected the cess from customers but had not remitted it to the State; granting relief in those circumstances would amount to unjust enrichment and retention of public money. The writ petition therefore failed, and the demand notice remained undisturbed.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the petitioner was entitled to payment of the admitted APGST demand by instalments; (ii) Whether the petitioner was entitled to waiver or exemption from Rural Development Cess despite having collected the cess from the customer.

Issue (i): Whether the petitioner was entitled to payment of the admitted APGST demand by instalments.

Analysis: The petitioner accepted the tax liability but sought instalments on the ground of financial difficulty. The relief sought was not one that could be granted in the writ proceedings, and the petitioner was left to approach the competent authority for such request.

Conclusion: The request for instalments was not granted.

Issue (ii): Whether the petitioner was entitled to waiver or exemption from Rural Development Cess despite having collected the cess from the customer.

Analysis: The exemption and waiver orders were accepted as applicable in principle, but the decisive fact was that the petitioner had already collected the cess from the customer and had not remitted it to the State. Granting exemption in such circumstances would permit retention of public money and result in unjust enrichment.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to waiver or exemption from the cess demand.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed in full, and the demand notice was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A dealer who has already collected tax or cess from the customer cannot claim exemption or waiver of that amount, since doing so would result in unjust enrichment and retention of public money.

---