Land To Be Re-assessed For Fixing Basic Tax Rate After Change In The Nature Of Land: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that as the nature of the land of the petitioner has been permitted to be changed pursuant to the passing of a statutory order under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, the competent authority is bound to re-assess the rate of basic tax and to make necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register after verifying the veracity and genuineness of the permission obtained.

The bench of Justice N. Nagaresh, while relying on the decision in Mary Abraham v. State of Kerala and others, observed that once an enabling order is passed under Rule 6(2) of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, permitting conversion of the land, then the earlier entries in the BTR showing the land as Nilam, Paddy Land, etc. will become superfluous and redundant, and the competent Revenue officials like the Tahsildar are obliged under law to make a fresh assessment of the property under Section 6A of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961.

The petitioner is the owner of the property in Chiyyaram Village in Thrissur District. The property was purchased in 1997. The predecessor-in-interest of the land approached the respondent, the Revenue Divisional Officer, invoking the provisions of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, seeking to permit him to use the land for non-agricultural purposes.

The Revenue Divisional Officer passed an order under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, permitting the use of the land for non-agricultural purposes.

Even though the order was passed under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, in the year 1996, the land was not re-assessed for fixing the rate of Basic Tax, and the property of the petitioner is still described as paddy land in the Revenue records.

The petitioner submitted an application invoking Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961, seeking to re-assess the basic tax and to make necessary entries in the basic tax register.

The tahsildar, however, did not pass any orders on the application.

The department contended that the veracity and genuineness of proceedings under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, are liable to be verified. The present status of the land will also have to be ascertained before re-assessment of the basic tax under the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961.

The court held that when an applicant has secured orders under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order prior to the cut-off date on which Section 27A was introduced to the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, the competent Revenue officials are bound to consider the subsequent application submitted under the provisions of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961.

The court directed the Tahsildar to consider the application submitted by the petitioner, in accordance with the law, and pass appropriate orders thereon within a period of one month.

Case Title: K.R Santhosh Versus Revenue Divisional Officer

Case No.: WP(C) No. 18521 Of 2023

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 268

Date: 09/06/2023

Counsel For Petitioner: Mathew Thomas, Anand Krishna

Counsel For Respondent: Devisree

Click Here To Read The Order