NOORNISA V. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (TDS)

WP(C)/37569/2016

AI Insights

The case involves a writ petition filed by Noornisa, seeking a directive for the disbursement of the sale price from land acquisition without deductions for income tax. The petitioner referenced a prior judgment (W.A. No. 1536 of 2016) which established that under Section 96 of the Act, 2013, no income tax or stamp duty should be levied on compensation awards, except as specified under Section 46, which was not applicable in this case. The court, referencing this precedent and the specific provisions of the Act, ruled in favor of the petitioner, ensuring that the compensation would be paid in full without tax deductions.

• Counselvise Citation: [2016] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 761297 (HC-KERALA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 24-11-2016
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: W.A. No. 1536 of 2016, W.P.(C) No. 12194 of 2016, W.A.No. 1422 of 2015
• Laws Referred To: Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: K M V PANDALAI; V K SHAMSUDHEEN
• Assessee Lawyers: S ABDUL SALAM
• Keywords: Compensation; Exemption; Income Tax; Land Acquisition
• Section: 96

Judgement Text

"IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE A.M.SHAFFIQUE THURSDAY, THE 24TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2016/3RD AGRAHAYANA, 1938 WP(C).No. 37569 of 2016 (U) ---------------------------- PETITIONER : ---------------------- NOORNISA, W/O MUHAMMEDKANNU (LATE), \"PANAVILAKATH VEEDU\" THALAYAL DESOM, BALARAMAPURAM, BALARAMAPURAM POST, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM- 695 501 BY ADV. SRI.S.ABDUL SALAM RESPONDENT(S): ---------------------------- 1. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (TDS), C.R.S BUILDING, I.S. PRESS ROAD, KOCHI-682 018, ERNAKUALM. 2. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, COLLECTORATE, CIVIL STATION, KUDAPPANAKUNNU, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN-695 001 3. THE LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER, (SPECIAL TAHSILDAR, L.A), KARAMANA-KALIIYIKKAVILA SECIAL UNIT, COLLECTORATE, CIVIL STATION, KUDAPPANAKUNNU, SPVL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001 R1 BY SRI.K.M.V.PANDALAI,SC, INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT R2 & R3 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI.V.K.SHAMSUDHEEN THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 24-11-2016, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: sts WP(C).No. 37569 of 2016 (U) ----------------------------------------- APPENDIX PETITIONER(S)' EXHIBITS ----------------------------------------- P1 PHOTOCOPY COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT IN WA NO. 1536/2016 DATED 8/8/2016 OF THIS HON'BLE COURT P2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS NO.A2 943/2012 DATED 30/11/13 OF THE THIRD RESPONDENT P3 PHOTOCOPY OF THE BASIC TAX RECEIPT BEARING NO. 0048476 DATED 9/9/2015 VILLAGE OFFICE PALLICHAL RESPONDENT(S)' EXHIBITS: NIL ------------------------------------------ /TRUE COPY/ P.A.TO JUDGE sts A.M. SHAFFIQUE, J. -------------------------------------- W.P.(C).No.37569 of 2016 ------------------------------------------------- Dated this the 24th day of November, 2016 J U D G M E N T This writ petition is filed by the petitioner seeking for a direction to the respondents to disburse the sale price payable to the petitioner without deducting any amount towards income tax. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the issue is already covered by judgment of this Court in W.P.(C) No.12194 of 2016 and connected cases, wherein a Division Bench of this Court held as under: “3. It is seen that the very same issue has been considered by a learned Division Bench of this Court in W.A. No. 1536 of 2016, whereby the judgment of the learned single Judge in W.P.(C) No. 12484 of 2016 and connected cases has been upheld. The learned Division Bench in the judgment dated 08.08.2016 in W.A. No. 1536 of 2016 has held thus: “3. We find that the judgment of the learned single Judge is just and proper in as much as Section 96 of the Act, 2013 clearly discloses that no income tax or stamp duty shall be levied on any award or agreement made under this Act, except under Section 46. It is not in dispute that Section 46 of the Act, 2013 is not applicable to the facts of this case. Hence, it is amply clear that as per Section 96 of the Act, 2013, exemption is provided for levying income tax and stamp duty. In an identical case, a Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No. 1422 of 2015 has already concluded that income tax is not liable to be deducted from the compensation payable to similarly placed persons. The learned single Judge, following W.P.(C).No.37569 of 2016 2 the dictum laid down in W.A. No. 1422 of 2015 and observing the provisions of Section 96 of the Act, 2013, has allowed the writ petitions directing the authorities to pay compensation to the petitioner, without deducting any amount towards income tax or stamp duty.” In the light of the above, the legal position now stands clarified that in view of Section 96 of the Act, 2013, the deduction towards income tax cannot be made from the compensation payable to the land owners. Therefore, these writ petitions are disposed of clarifying the position as above and directing that the compensation be disbursed to the petitioners without deducting any amount towards income tax.” 3. Taking into account the aforesaid facts, I do not think that anything further survives to be decided in the present writ petition. The amount shall be disbursed to the petitioner taking note of Section 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. This writ petition is disposed of as above. Sd/- A.M. SHAFFIQUE, JUDGE AV "