[Kerala Building Tax Act] District Collector Can Exercise Revisional Power Against Assessment Order: Kerala High Court

Aggrieved by the rejection of the assessment order by the District Collector in revision, the petitioner has approached the High Court. Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh while quashing the order of the District Collector stated thus:

“From the bare perusal of Section 13, it can be gathered that the District Collector may exercise the revisional power against the assessment order, and it is not limited only to the order passed in appeal under Section 11 by the Revenue Divisional Officer. Of course, the power of revision against the assessment order or the appellate order is to be exercised within the parameters provided under Section 13.”

Section 13 of the Act pertains to the revisional power of the District Collector. It provides that the District Collector can exercise revisional power against any order passed by the appellate authority or the assessing authority.

In this case, the petitioner preferred revision against the assessment order before the District Collector. His revision was rejected by stating that the appeal shall lie against the assessment order before the Revenue Divisional Officer only. The order stated that revision against the assessment order shall lie before the District Collector against the appellate order only.

High Court took note of the decision in James Varghese v District Collector (1989) and Section 13 of the Act to state that revision against assessment order was maintainable before the District Collector.

Accordingly, the Court quashed the order and remanded it back to the District Collector for consideration of the revision against the assessment order.

“Thus, considering the said judgment and the provisions of Section 13 of the Kerala Building Tax Act, the present writ petition is allowed. The impugned order is quashed, and the matter is remanded back to the District Collector for a decision on merit in the revision filed by the petitioners against the assessment order.”

Counsel for the petitioners: Advocates Aakhil Mohammed P.M and P.M.Mohammed Shiraz

Counsel for the respondents:

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 720

Case title: P.H.FATHIMA v STATE OF KERALA

Case number: WP(C) NO. 21078 OF 2023

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