An Act to provide for levy of surcharges on certain taxes

Preamble: - Whereas it is considered necessary to increase the taxes on agricultural income, taxes on the sale or purchase of goods and taxes on profession, by the levy of a surcharge on such taxes.

Be it enacted in the Eight year of the Republic of India as follows: -

1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the Kerala surcharge on taxes act 1957.

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

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

2. Levy of surcharge on agricultural income taxes: - The agricultural income tax payable by any person(other than a company)assessed to such tax under The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act 1991, shall be increased by a surcharge at the rate of ten per of the tax payable each year, and the provisions of (The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act 1991) shall apply in relation to the said surcharge as they apply in relation to the agricultural income-tax payable under the said Act.

Explanation:- In this section, company shall have the same meaning as in The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act 1991.

3. Levy of surcharge on sales and purchase taxes: -1) The tax payable under subsection (1) of section 5 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, by a dealer in foreign liquor stall be increased by a surcharge at the rate of ten per cent, and the provisions of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 shall apply in relation to the said surcharge as they apply in relation to the tax payable under the said Act.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection(1) of section 22 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act,1963, no dealer referred to in sub-section(1) shall be entitled to collect the surcharge payable under the said sub-section.

(3) any dealer who collects the surcharge payable under sub-section(1) in contravention of the provisions of sub-section(2) shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees and no court below the rank of a Magistrate of the first class shall try and such offence.

4. Penalty for illegal collection of surcharge: -(1) if any person collects any sum by way of surcharge or purporting to be by way of surcharge in contravention of sub-section(2) of section3, he shall be liable to pay penalty not exceeding five thousand rupees and any sum so collected by the person shall be liable to be forfeited to the Government by an order issued by the assessing authority after giving such person an opportunity to show cause why penalty ort forfeiture shall not be ordered.

Provided that no penalty or forfeiture shall be ordered under this sub-section if the assessing authority is satisfied that the sum so collected has been returned to the person from whom it was collected.

(2) Where any sum is forfeited to the Government under sub-section (1) any person from whom the amount was collected in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 3 may apply to the assessing authority for reimbursement of such sum and the amount shall be reimbursed to such person and the procedure prescribed for reimbursement of the tax forfeited under sub-section (1) of section 46A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act 1963(15 of 1963) shall mutatis mutandis apply to such reimbursement.

(3) No prosecution for an offence under sub-section (3) of section 3 shall be instituted in respect of the same facts on which a penalty has been imposed or forfeiture has been ordered under this section.

5. Omitted.

6. Removal of difficulties: If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provision of this Act, the Government may, as occasion may arise, by order do anything, which appears to them necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty.

7. Power to make rules: - the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

8. Amendment to the Madras Elementary Education Act, 1920: -1) Chapeter III (sections 32 and 40 both inclusive) of the Madras Elentary Education Act, 1920 as a force in the Malabar district referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956 shall be omitted.

(2) as soon as may be after commencement of this act, the elementary education fund constituted for each local authority under the said act, shall be transferred to the government by such local authority and the same shall vest I n the government free, of all trusts, liabilities and encumbrances. Thereupon it shall be competent for the government to utilize the said fund in such manner as they may deem fit.

***************

RULES

THE KERALA SURCHARGE ON TAXES (AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX AND SALES TAX) RULES, 1958.

(Section 7)

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 7 of the Kerala Surcharge on Taxes Act 1957(Act 11 of 1957) the Government of Kerala hereby make the following rules, namely: -

1. These rules may be called the Kerala Surcharge on Taxes (Agricultural Income Tax and Sales Tax) Rules 1958.

2. They shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1^ST day of September 1957.

3. They shall extend to the whole state of Kerala.

4. In these rules unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context: -

(a) The Act means the Kerala surcharge on Taxes Act, 1957.

(b) Assessig Authority means the authority competent to make assessments under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 or the Kerala General Sales Act, 1963;

(c)‘Dealer’menas a dealer as defined in the Kerala General Sales Tax Act,1963;

(d) ‘Form’ means a form appended to these rules;

(e) ‘Person’ means a person as defined in the agricultural in come tax act 1950;

(f) ‘State’ means the state of Kerala;

(g)’Turnover’ means turnover as defined in the Kerala General sales tax act,1963;

(h)’Year’ means the financial year;

5. The surcharge on Agricultural Income Tax payable by a person under section 2 of the act shall be levied and collected by the assessing authority competent to levy and collect agricultural income tax under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 and the Rules framed thereunder.

6. The surcharge on sales tax and purchase tax payable by a dealer under section 3 of the Act shall be levied and collected by the Assessing Authority competed to levy and collect sales tax and purchase tax under the Kerala General Sales Tax act, 1963 and the Rules thereunder.

7. Surcharge shall be levied on the agricultural income tax payable by a person (other than a company) under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 and on the salestax and purchase tax payable by a dealer under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act 1963.

8. A dealer who is assessed to tax provisionally under the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules,1963 on a turnover is not less than one lakh rupees in a year shall also be provisionally assessed to surcharge due on the provisional tax fixed and it shall be collected in such manner and within such time as may be specified in the notice in Form I.

9. (1) Every dealer whose annual turnover is not less than one lakh rupees in a year and who pay tax monthly under the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules, 1963,shall also pay monthly surcharge due on the monthly tax payable by him on or before the 20^th day of every month.

(2) If the surcharge on the monthly tax payable by the dealer is not paid on or before the 20^th day of every month, the assessing authority shall serve up on the dealer a notice in Form II and the dealer shall pay the sum demanded at the time and in the manner specified in the notice.

9A. A dealer liable to submit a return in Form 8 under the

Kerala General Sales Tax Rules 1963, shall submit along with that return a receipt from a Government Treasury or a crossed cheque or crossed demand draft in favour of the assessing authority for the surcharge due for the year on the basis of the return after deducting there from the provisional surcharge, if any, paid already for the year, falling which the assessing authority shall serve up on the dealer a demand notice in Form IIIA and the dealer shall pay the sum demanded within the time and in the manner specified therein.

10. Surcharge payable by a dealer or a person shall be

finalized at the time when his assessment is finalized under the agricultural income tax rules,1951 or the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules,1963 as the case may be and collected in such manner and within such time as may be specified in the notice in Form III.

11. If the amount of surcharge due on the final assessment is lower than the amount actually paid, the assessing authority shall refund to the dealer the excess amount so paid, if no other amount by way of surcharge is due from him, or adjust such excess among towards the recovery of any surcharge due from him on the date of adjustment as may be specified in the notice in Form IV.

12. Omitted.

13. If, for any reason, the whole or any part of the surcharge on agricultural income tax payable by a person under section 2 of the act or the surcharge on sales tax and purchase tax payable by a dealer under section 3 of the Act has escaped assessment in any year, the assessing authority shall within the period prescribed for assessment of escaped income under the Agricultural Iincome Tax Act, 1950 or the period prescribed for assessment of escaped turnover under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 as the case may be proceed to determine to the best of this judgement the amount of surcharge which has escaped assessment and assess the surcharge payable after issuing a notice to the person or the dealer as the case may be and after making such enquiry as he considers necessary.

14. If, for any reason, any surcharge has been assessed low in any year, the assessing authority may at any time within the period prescribed for assessment of escaped income under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 or the period prescribed for assessment of escaped turnover under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 as the case may be proceed to revise the assessment after issuing a notice to the person or the dealer as the case may be and after making such enquiry as he considers necessary.

15. The authorities competent to hear appeals or revision and pass orders under the provisions of the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 and the Rules made thereunder or under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 and the Rules made thereunder shall be competent to hear appeals or revisions and pass orders o n any order relating to the levy of surcharge subject to eh conditions specified therein.

****************