The High Court on Thursday sought a reply from the State Government and Transport Taxation Authority, to a petition that challenged the Government notification making a retrospective amendment to Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988.

The writ petition by KT Rajashekar, propreitor of SRS Travels, challenged the State Government notification dated April 28, 2007, making certain amendments to MV Act. The amendment had stipulated that Private Service Permit vehicles were liable to pay MV tax as per the rates specified for Contract Carriage vehicles, for the period between March 1, 1991 and April 1, 2000.

The petitioner stated that RTO and Taxation Authority, Bangalore Central was due to refund him, about Rs 1.63 crore along with 12 per cent interest as per High Court orders in 2005. The amount was one that had been wrongly collected from 1991 to 2000, he stated while adding that the RTO was now denying the refund by taking guard under the impugned notification.

Rajshekar stated that he had appealed against RTO’s action in levying tax and penalty under the category of contract carriage vehicles, and the same was allowed by HC while ordering refund with interest. He said, he sought refund of  tax amount & interest coming upto Rs 2.87cc crore through a legal notice in March 2007. Then, Government carried out the amendment and thereafter, on May 17, 2007, RTO refused to refund, he said.

Rajashekar’s Puttige R Ramesh contended that notification was with the sole object of defeating Rajashekar’s claim and legalising RTO’s tax recovery. He pointed out that notification had also claimed immunity from Court orders in the matter.

Justice Mohan Shantan Goudar, directed State Finance Department, Deputy Commissioner of Transport and Bangalore Central RTO & Taxation Authority to file their counter statements within four weeks.
Tax authorities advised

A High Court Bench advised the Excise Tax and Customs departments to take necessary steps to ensure proper representation of the cause of Revenue before the Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal.

The Bench headed by Justice V Gopala Gowda dealing with excise tax and customs appeals, observed that departments needed to handle their cases before Tax Tribunal efficiently, to avoid improper orders and subseqent appeals. The Bench which had summoned the departments’ Commissioners in this regard, told them to improve their defence before the Tribunal by measures like employing competent advocates and updating details of new notifications, deligently.

Affidavits filed
About 43 de-recognised schools of Kolar district submitted their affidavits to Karnataka High Court on Thursday, undertaking to use Kannada or mother tongue of the child as medium of instruction for their first standard admissions of 2007-08. These schools were among the 63 schools of the district which have challenged their derecognition and the validity of Government proposed Voluntary Scheme for fresh recognition.

Justice BS Patil received the affidavits and ordered that their recognition would continue till their petitions are disposed, as per the recent Division Bench order in the matter. They were also allowed to continue English medium for the students studying in second standard to fifth standard.