Kerala act 017 of 1960 : The Kerala Plantation (Additional Tax) Act, 1960 (No.17 of 1960)

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The Kerala Plantations (Additional Tax) Act, 1960 (Act 17 of 1960)

CONTENTS

Sections

1. Short title, extent and commencement.

2. Definitions.

3. Charge of plantation tax.

4. Return relating to plantations.

5. Determination of extent of plantation and the nsses,s. ment of plantation tax.

6. Provisional assessment.

7. Cancellation of assessment in certain cases.

8. Notice of demand.

9. Appeal against assessment, etc.

10. Powers of revision of Board of Revenue.

11. Rectification of mistake.

12. Power to take evidence on oath, etc.

13. Recovery of plantation tax.

14. Mode and time of recovery.

15. Refunds.

16. Power to set off amount of refund against tax remain- ing payable.

17. Limitation of claims for refund.

18. False statements in declaration.

19. Failure to furnish return or document.

20. Power to call for information.

21. Power of inspection.

22. Prosecutions.

23. Cognizance of offences.

24. Place of assessment.

25. Manner of service of notice.

26. Power to grant extension of time for returns, etc.

27. Power to make rules.

28. Remission of plantation tax.

29. Bar of suits in civil courts.

30. Computation of period of limitation.

31. ' Delegation of powers.

32. Removal of difficulties.

SCHEDULE I

SCHEDULE II

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ACT 17 OF 1960 •

THE KERALA PLANTATIONS (ADDITIONAL TAX)

ACT, 1960

An Act to provide for the levy of an additional tax on planta- tions in the State of Kerala.

Preamble.-WHEREAS it is expedient to prov1de for the levy of an additional tax on plantations in the State of Kerala; _ BErt enacted m the Eleventh Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

1. Short tttle, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Plantations (Additional Tax) Act,

1960.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.

(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the fhst day of Aprtl, 1960.

2. Definitions.-In th~:> Act, unless the context othe1 wise requ1re:.,-

(1) ''assessee" means a person by whom plantation tax or any other sum of money is payable under this Act, and includes every person m respect of whom any proceedmg under this Act has been taken for the assessment of plantation tax payable by hrm;

(2) "appellate author1ty'' means the appellate authority appointed by the Government ;

(3) "assessmg authority'' means the assessmg authority appointed by the Government;

(4) ·'company" means a oompany as defined m section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act 1 of 1956), and includes a foreign company wr.thin the meaning of section 591 of that Act;

(5) "person'' means any mdividual or assocralion of indr- vrduals holding any plantation for hrmself or for any other, or partly for himself and partly for another, whether as owner, tenant, mortgagee 1n possession, trustee, receiver, common manager, administl·ator or executor or in any capacity reco- gnised by law and includes a Hindu und1vided fam1ly, an Aliya- santhana family or branch, a Marumakkathayam tarwad or tavazhi, a Nambudiri family or other famrly to which the * Published m the Gazette Extraordinary dated 24th August, 1960.

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provisions of the Kerala Nambudiri Act, 1958, apply, a firm, a company or a co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under the Travancore·Cochin Co-operative Socie- ties Act, 1951, or the Madras Co-operat1ve Societies Act, 1932, and any institution capable of holding property;

(6) "plantation" means land used for growing one or more of the following:-

(i) cocoanut trees;

(ii) arecanut trees;

(iii) rubber plants;

(iv) coffee plant!>:

( v) tea plant:.;

(vi) cardamom plants;

(vii) pepper vines;

(7) ''prescribed'' mearu. prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(8) ''to hold" with reference to a plantation means to be m possessiOn oi the plantation as owner or as tenant or as mort- gagee m possession;

(9) ''valuation date'' m relation to the financial year com- mencing on the first day of April, 1960, means the first day of September, 1960, and m relation to any other financial year ·for which an assessment is to be made under this Act means the first day of April of that year.

3. Charge of plantation tax.- (1) Subject to the other pro- VISions contained in this Act, for every financial year commenc- mg on and hom the first day of April, 1960, there shall be charged in respect of the lands comprised in plantations held by a person on the correspondmg valuation date nn add1tional tax (hereina{ter referred to as "plantation tax') at the rates specified m Schedule I; and the person holdmg such plantations shall be liable to pay the plantation tax.

(2) The plantation tax assessed under this Act shall be payable by the assessee for every financial year until the extent of plantations held by him is revised and the plantation tax is assessed on the basis of the rsvised extent under sub-sec-

. tion <3), and from the financial year immediately following the revision the plantation tax assessed on the basis- of such re- vision shall be payable.

(3) The extent of plantations held by a person deternuned under ::.ection 5 shall ordinarily be revised at the end of live years, but the assessing authonty may, either suo motu or on application by an assessee, revise the extent so determined, before the expiry of five years; and where such extent has been revised as aforesaid, the plantation tax payable thereon shall be assessed on the basis of the revised extent.

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( 4) For purposes of the assessment of plantation tax paY· able by a person under this Act, the extent of plantations held by him shaH be determined in the manner specified in Sche- dule II.

(5) The tax charged under this section shall be in addition to the basic tax payable in respect of tho.;e lands under the Land Tax Act, 1955.

4. Reiurn relating to plantations.-(1) Every person who on the fir~t day of September, 1960. holds five acres or more in extent of plantations m the aggregate shall furnish to the assessing authority so as to reach him before the thirty-first day o~ December, 1960, n return in the prescribed form and verified In the prescribed manner and containing such parti- culars as may be prescribed.

(2) Every person who. on the first day of April, 1961, or of any subsequent year, holds five acres or more m exient of plantations in the aggregate, the extent of plantations held by whom has not been determmed under ~his Act, shall, before the first day of June of that year, furnish to the assessmg authority a return as specified in sub-section (1).

(3) In the case of any person who, in the opinion of the assessmg authorit\, holds such extent of plantations as to render such person Hable to plantation tax for any financial year, the asses1nng authority may serve a notice in the prescribed form requiring such person to furnish within such period, not being • less than thirty days as may be specified in the notice, a return in the prescnbed form and verifie? In the prescribed manner and containing such particuldrs as may be provided for in the notice.

(4) If any person has not fumished a return within the time allowed by or under sub-section ( 1). sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or, having furnished a returri under any of those sub sections discovers an\' omission or wrong statement therein, he·may furm~h a return or a revised return, as the case may be, at any time before the assessment is made.

{5) The assessing authonty may serve on any person who has made a return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or upon whom a notice has been served under sub-section (3), u notice requirmg him, on a date to be therem specified, to pro- duce or cause to be produced, such :Jocument:. as such authority may require.

5. DeteTmination of extent of plantation and the assessment of plantatton tax- (1) If the assessing authority is satisbed thal a retu1n made under sect10n 4 i.:; correct and complete, he shall, by order in wr1tmg, determine the extent of plantations held by the assessee and assess tr.e amount of phmtation tax payable by him on the basis of such return.

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(2) If the assessing authority is not 5atisfied that the return is correct and complete, he shall serve on the person who made the return a nobce requiring him, on the date specified therem, either to attend the office of the assessing autho,.ity or to pro- duce, or to cause to be produced, any evidence on which such person may rely in support of the return.

(3) On the day specified in the notice under sub-section (2) or as soon afterwards as may be, the assessin~ authority, after considermg such evidence as such person may produce and such other evidence as that authority may require on specified points, shall determine the extent of plantations held by the assesFee and assess the amount of plantation tax payable by him on the basis of the extent of plantations so determiued.

(4) If any person falls to make a return under sub-~ection

(3) of sectJon 4, or faxls to comply with all the terms of a notice issued under sub-section (5) cf that section or under sub-sec- tion (2) of thi~ section, the as~e5sing authouty shall de·ermine the exlent nf plantation to the best of h1s judgement and assess the plantation tax payable by the assessee on the basis of the extent of plantation so determined.

6. Provisional assessment.-(!) The assessing auth01ity may, at any time after the receipt of a return under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-secth.n (3) of section 4, proceed to make in a summary manner a provisional asses,ment of the plantatwn tax payable by the assessee on the basis of the return and the documents, if any, accompanying it.

(2) For the avoidance of 'doubt it is hereby declared that the provisions of sect ions 13 and 14 apply m rela· io:t1 to any plantation tax payable in pursu-ince d a provisional assessment made under sub-section (1) as if it were a regular assessment made under section 5.

(3) After a regular assessn:ent has been made under sec- tion 5, any amount paid towards a provisional assessment made under sub-section (1) sha 1 be deemed to have been paid towards the regular ass~ssment; and where the amount paid towards the provisional assessment excfe~s the amount payable ur der 1he regular assessment, the excess shall be refunded to the assessee.

7. Cancellation of assessment in certain cases.-Where an assessee, w1thin one mon1h frum the service of a notice of demand issued as hereinafter provided, satisfies the asses5ing author1ty that he was prL vented by suflic1ent cause from making the return reqUired by section 4 or that he did not receive the notice issued under sub-section (3) or sub-~ection (5) of that section or ~ ub-section (2) of :,ection 5 or that he had not a reasonable opporLunity to comply, or was prevented hy suffi- cient cause from complying, with the terms of any such notice the a~sessmg authonty shall cancel the asse5sment and proceed to make a fresh assessment in accordance w1th the proviswns of section 5.

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8. Notice of demand -When any plantation tax is due in consequence of any order passed under or in pursuance of this Act, .the assessmg authority shall serve on the a~sessee a notice of demand In the prescribed form specifying the sum so payable.

9. Appeal against assess•nent, etc.-(1) Any a5=sessee object· ing to the extent of plantation or the amount of plantation tax assessed under sectwn 5 or denying his liability to be assessed under this Act or objecting to any order of the assessing autho· rlty under this Act may appeal to the appellate authority a~ainst the assessment or against wch order :

Provided that no appeal shall lie in respect of an assessment made under sub-section ( 4) of section 5 or under section 6.

(2) The ap!Jeal shall be in the prescnbed form and l>hall be venfied Ill the prescribed manner.

(3) The appeal shall be presented within a period of thirty days from the date of service of the notice of demand relating to the assessment or the date of ~ervice of the 01 der; but the appellate authority may admit an appeal presented after the expiration of the said period, if he is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not presenting it within the said period.

(4) The appellate authority shall fix a day and place for the hearing of the appeal and may from time to time adjourn the hearing and make or cause to be made such further inquiry as he thmks fit.

(5) In disposing of an appedl, the appellate authority may-

(a) in Lhe case of an order of assessment- (!) confirm, reduce, enhance, or annul the assessment . (iJ) set aside the assessment and direct the as~essing authortty to make a fresh assessment after such further InqUiry as may be directed ; or

(b) in the casE> of an)- other order, confirm, cancel or vary such order:

Provided that an appeal shall not be disposed of unless the appellant ha£ been given a reasonable opportumty of being heard:

Provided further that at the hearing of an appeal the a1:.sessing author1ty also shall have the right to be heard.

(6) The <~ppellate authority shall, on the conclusion of the appeal, communicate the orders passed by him to the assessee and the assessing authority.

(7) The orders passed by the appellate authority shall, subject to the provisions of section 10 be final and shall not be lialale to be questioned in a court of law.

10. Powers of revision of Board of Revenue.-'fhe Board of Revenue may at any time call for and examine the record o! any proceedmg penuing before, or disposed of by, the appellate authority, and may pass such order in reference thereto a& the Board of Revenue thinks fit:

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Pro.vided that no such order shall be p~ssed under this section without notice to the party who may be affected by the order. '

11.' Recttfication of mistake.- (1) The appellate authority may at any time withm three years from the dale of an order passed by him on appeal and the assessing authority may at any time withm three years from the date of any assessment or refund order pasc;ed by him, of his own motion, rectify any mistake apparent from lhe record of the appeal, assessment or refund, as the case may be, and shall Within the hke period rectify any such mistake which has been broug},t to his notice by an as1>essee : · . _,.

Provided that no such rectification "hall be made having the effect of enhancing an assessment or reducing a refund unless the assesc:ee has been given a reasonable opportunity of bemg heard m the matter. '

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(2) Where any such rectification has the effect of reducing the assessment, the assessing authority shall make any refund which may be due to such assessee.

(3) Where any such recllfiC'ation.has the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducmg a refund, the assessmg authority shall serve on the assessee a notice of demand m the prescr1 bed form specifymg the sum payable; and such notice of demand shall be deemed to be Issued under section 8 and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly.¹

12. Power to take ev;dence on oath, etc.-The appellate authonty and the assessmg authority shall, for the ·purposes of this Act, have the same powers as are vested m a court under· the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when trying a suit, m respect of the followmg matters, name~y:-

(a) enforcmg the attendance of ally person and ex~min- ing him on oath or affirmation; ·

(b) compelling the production of documents; and

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(c) issuing commissions.

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(2) The arrears of plaJ;l.tation tax and the interest, if any, thereon shall be a first charge on the interPst of the holder in the plantation subject to the charge for basic tax, and shall be recoverable under the law for the time being in force relating to the recovery of arrears of land revenue; and any sale of such interest for arrears of plantation tax and interest shall be free from all encumbrances.

15. Refunds.- (1) If any person satisfies the assessing autho- rity that the amount of plantation tax paid by him for any year exceeds the amount with which such person is properly as~ess- able under this Act for that year, he shall be entitled to a refund of any such exces..;.

(2) The appellate authority in the exercise of his appellate powers, if satisfied to the hke effect, shall cause a refund to be made by the assessing authority of any amount found to have been wrongly paid or paid in excess.

16. Power to set off amount of refund against ta:: remaining payable.-Where, under any of the provisions of this Act, a !"efund is found ta be due to any person, the assessing authority or the appellate authority, as the case may be, may, in lieu of payment of the refund, set off, the amount to be refunded, or auy part of that amount, against the plantatiou tax, if any, remaining payable by the person to whom the refund is due.

17. LimiLation of claims for refund.-No claim to any refund of plantation tax under sectwn 15 shall be admitted unless it is n,ade within one year from the date of the order of assessment or, where an appeal or application for revision has been prefer- red from the order of assessment, within one year from the order in appeal or revision.

18. False statements in declaration.-!£ any person makes a statement in a verification mentioned in section 4 or sub-section

(2) ~f sectwn 9 which is false and which he ezther knows or believes to be fahe or does not believe to be true, he shall be deemed to have commttted the offence described in section 177 of the Indian Penal Code.

19. Failure to furnish return or document.-!£ any pe.rson fails without reasonable cause or excuse-

(a) to furnish in due time any return specified m sub- section (1) or ·sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of section 4; or

(b) to produce or cause to be produced on or before the date mentioned many notice un-l.er sub·section (5) of section 4 such documenls as are referred to in the notice, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five rupees for every day during which the default continues.

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20. Power to call for information.-(!) The assessing authority may serve or cause to be serv~d on any person who, acc.Jrd~ng to the assessing authority, "is 1n possession of special knowledge 1n regard to the extent or other particulars re- garding plantations hPld by an assessee, a notice requirmg him to furnish information regarding any such particulars as may be necessary for the purpose of assessment of tax under th1s Act, and thereupon such person shall be bound to furnish such particulars as are available w.1th him.

(2) If any person fails without reasonable'cause or excuse to furnish in due time any information called for under sub- section (1) , he shall be punishable with fine wh1ch may extend to fifty rupees.

21 Power of inspectwn.- (1) The assessmg authority or any other officer authorised by the Government or by the assess- ing authority in th1s behalf may, al any reasonable time, enter any plantation for the purpose of collectmg particulars relating thereto anci may require the holder of the plantation or any other person in charge of the plantation to produce for inspection an~' book, register or record kept therein and ask for any mformat10n relatmg to the plantation ; and the holder of the plantation or other person m charge shall be bound to afford facilities for such ;nsp~ction, and furnish such informa- tion as IS available with him.

(2) Any person who obstructs the assessing authority or other officer authorised in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under sub~sect10n (1) or fails to produce any book, register or record when required to be produced or furnish the available mformation, shall be pumshab!e with impriSon- ment of either descr1phon for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

22. Prosecutions.-{!) A person shall not be proceeded against for an offence under section 18, section 19, sectwn 20 or section 21 except at the mstance of such officer as may be authorised by the Government in this behalf. · (2) Before mst1tuting proceedings against any person under sub-sect1on (1) the officer so authorised shall call upon such person to show cause why proceedings should not be instituted against him.

(3) The officer so authorised may either before or after the institutiOn of proceedmgs compound any such offence other than an offence under sectwn 21.

23. Congntzance of ojjences.-No Magistrate other than a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Act.

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24. P1ace of assessment.-The plantations held by a person shall be assessed by the assessing authority of the area in which the plantations are situated or, where the plantattons are situated within the jurisdictiOn of two or more assessing authonties,·by, such assessing authority and 1n such manner as may be prescnbed.

25, Manner of service of notice.-(1) A notice or requisi- tion under this Act n:.ay be served on Lhe person therein named either by post !Jr as if it were a summons issued by a court under the Code of Civ1l Procedure, 1908.

(2) Any such notice or requisition may, in the case of a firm, Hmdu undtvtded family or Ahya~anthana famlly or branch or Marumakkathayam tarwad or tavazh1 or a Nam- budm famtly or other family to which the provi.>Ions of the Keraia Nambudm Act, 1958, apply, be addressed to any member of the firm or to the Mana~er or Karanavan, or any adult member of the family, tarwad, tavazhi on. branch and; in the case of any other association of per~ons, be addressed to the principal officer thereof.

26. Power to grant extension of tlme for returns, etc.-The as~essmg authonty may, m his d1~cretion, in the case of any person or class of persons, extend the date before wh1ch the return under sub-section (1) or sub-sectiOn (2) of ~ectlon :4 has to be furrushed or, on application by an assessee, allow him s1:1ch extension or extensions of time as the authority thinks fit to furnish the return or comply w1th the terms.of a notice under tlus Act.

27. Power to make rules.-(1) The Government'may make rules for carrymg out the purposes of this Act. ·

(2) In particular, and without prejudtce to the generality of the foregomg power, such rules may prov1de for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

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(a) the procedure to be followed in determining. whether any land 1s a plantation;

(b) the procedure for determining the e:dPnt of pll:\nta- tions held by a person ; '

(c) the procedure for revising the extent of plantations held by a person and provision !or appeals from order::. in such reVISlon;

(d) the for:n of returns under section 4 and the manner m wluch they should be verified ;

(e) the form of the notice of dema;nd mentioned in sect10n 8,

(£) the mode and manner of recovery o{ plantation tax;

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(g) the powers and duties of asse!>sing authorities, appel· late authorities and other officers under this Act, the relation of such authorities to each other and the conditions of service of such authonties ;

(h) the form in which appeals under this Act shall be presented and the manner in which they shall be ~erified ,

(i) the form of the notice of demand mentioned in sub- section (3) of section 11 ;

(j) the manner in· which and the authority to whom applications for refund shall be made and the procedure to be followed in respect of such apphcations ; and

(k) all other matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescnbed.

(3) All rules made under this Act shall be laid for not less than fourteen days before the Legislative Assembly, as soon as possible after they are made, and shall be subject to such modi- fications, whether by way of repeal

28. Remission of plantation tax.-Notwithstanding anything contained m this Act, the Government may remit, m whole or in part, the amount of vlantation tax payable by any person If they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so on account of the failure or destruction of crops or on account of the fact that the yield in any plantatiOn has been substantially reduced due to natural causes. . . ~ :

· '29. Bar of suits in civil c()urts -No suit shall be In·ought in any civil court to set aside or modify any assessment made under this Act and no prosecution, suit or other proceeding shall he against an:y officer of the Government for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act . .

30. Computation of' pe~iod of limttation.-In computing the penod of limitation prescribed for any appeal under this Act the date on which the order complamed of was made and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of such order shall be ex- cluded.

31. Delegation of powers.-The Government may, by r10tifica- tion in the Gazette, delegate any of their powers under this Act, except the power under section 27, to the Board of Revenue or other authority. _ . '

32, Removal of dif]iculties.-If ar.y difficulty arises in givm§ effect to the provisiOns of 'this Act, the Government, as occasior may require, may by order do anything not inconsistent wit~· the provisions 'of th1s Act for the purpose of removing th< difficulty. ·

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SCHEDULE I

[See SECTION 3 (1)) Rates of plantation tax·

1. Where the aggregate extent of planta- tions held by a person i~ below five acres

2. Where the aggregate extent of a planta- tions hejd by a person is five acres or more-

( a) on the first two acres

(b) on the remaining extent SCHEDULE li

[See SECTION 3 ( 4)]

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'Rate Nil.

Nil.

Eight rupees per acre. For the purposes of the assessment of plantation tax paya- ble by a person, the extent of plantations held by him shall be deemed to be the aggregate of the following, expressed in acres, namely:-

(i) the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of bearing cocoanut trees stand.mg on all lands held by hiln by 85,

(ii) the quotiet obtained by dividing the total number of bearing arecanut trees standmg on all lands held by him by 600;

(hi) the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of yielding rubber plants standing on all lands held by him by 180;

(iv) the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of yielding coffee plants standing ·on all lands held by him by 600;

(v) the quotient obtained by dtviding the total number of yielding pepper vines standmg on all lands held by him by 400;

(vi) the extent of lands on which tea plants are grown which have begun to yield crops ;

(vii) the extent of lands on which cardamom plants are grown which have begun to y1eld crops; Provided that where the total extent of land hP.ld by a per- son, which IS cultivated with the aforesaid crops, is less than the aggregate calculated as above, the actual extent alone sballibe deemed tc be the extent of plantations held by him. t

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