TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (4) TMI 249
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....etitioner, a composite order of penalty under section 67 and section 44(10) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (for short 'the Act') was issued. Pursuant to the orders of penalty, a revised assessment was also issued under section 25(1) of the Act. Though the orders of penalty and the assessment were separately challenged in revision and in appeal, petitioner seeks for directions to consider its application claiming benefit of the Amnesty Scheme for the assessment year 2013-14 introduced as per the Kerala Finance Act, 2020. Further directions are also sought to update the web portal with the modified assessment order, issued to the petitioner. 2. Petitioner was a registered dealer under the Act, engaged in the business of ti....
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....cheme. The said timeline to exercise the option was later extended till 31-11-2020. Further, in cases where the demand of tax was generated after 31-11-2020, the assessees were given an opportunity to exercise their option to claim the benefit of the amnesty scheme within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order and the payments were to be made by 31-03-2021. 5. Revised penalty order was issued only on 24-11-2020, while the modified assessment order was issued only on 27-01-2021, that too, after repeated promptings by the petitioner. To avail the benefit of the Amnesty Scheme 2020, petitioner even withdrew the appeal pending before the Value Added Tax Appellate Tribunal and attempted to file the application, exercising its option fo....
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....eared the entire liability by remitting an amount of 40% of the tax due, while under the Amnesty Scheme 2021, the amount liable to be paid is 60% of the tax due. Petitioner further alleged that the web portal of the respondents had not even been updated, and it reflects only the original assessment order and not the modified orders, thereby clearly evidencing the callous attitude of the respondents. It is in such circumstances the petitioner has approached this Court seeking directions for the grant of benefit under the Amnesty Scheme of 2020 after accepting the application submitted by the petitioner. 8. A counter-statement has been filed on behalf of the second respondent stating that the petitioner ought to have ensured that the modif....
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....also pertinent to notice that petitioner had withdrawn the appeal pending before the KVAT Appellate Tribunal, as is evident from Ext.P15, wherein it was specifically mentioned that the appeal is being withdrawn to avail the benefit under the Amnesty Scheme. 11. Thereafter when the petitioner attempted to claim the benefit of the Amnesty Scheme, as evident from Ext.P16, petitioner was unable to log onto the Amnesty portal. Access was refused to the petitioner alleging that the time limit for filing the application for Amnesty Scheme had expired as is evident from Ext.P17. In Ext.P16 also, which was submitted on 12-02-2021, petitioner had pointed out that it was denied access to the Amnesty portal. 12. From the records produced before t....