https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=159123 Penalty under section 45A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act was held not exigible where the assessee omitted copra purchase turnover from the return under a bona fide belief that the turnover was exempt under the First Schedule and that tax had already been remitted on related coconut oil sales. The Court treated penalty as quasi-criminal and required deliberate or contumacious conduct, not merely an incorrect interpretation of the charging or set-off provisions. The subsequent rejection of the assessee's claim did not by itself establish mens rea or a false return, so the penalty orders were quashed. en-us Tue, 28 Apr 1998 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 16 Nov 2013 11:17:34 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=159123 Penalty under section 45A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act was held not exigible where the assessee omitted copra purchase turnover from the return under a bona fide belief that the turnover was exempt under the First Schedule and that tax had already been remitted on related coconut oil sales. The Court treated penalty as quasi-criminal and required deliberate or contumacious conduct, not merely an incorrect interpretation of the charging or set-off provisions. The subsequent rejection of the assessee's claim did not by itself establish mens rea or a false return, so the penalty orders were quashed. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Tue, 28 Apr 1998 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=159123