Voluntary payment of tax cannot be refunded.

JUDGMENT

R Raghunandan Rao, J. - The petitioner is the owner of the contract carriage vehicle bearing registration No.AP-16-TU-9899 registered in Nizamabad. The petitioner also had a carriage permit No.PC-AP025/10/BSP/2009, which was valid up to 30.10.2018.

2. The vehicle of the petitioner was engaged by a tourist party for the period from 09.06.2017 to 24.06.2017 for visiting various pilgrimage places in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Kerala. For the purpose of transporting the said tourist party, the petitioner submitted an application for special/temporary permit on 07.06.2017 to the registering authority at Nizamabad and obtained a special permit bearing No.TS016/3378/PTOV/2017, valid for the period 09.06.2017 to 24.06.2017.

3. The petitioner, thereupon, entered the Andhra Pradesh State on 09.06.2017 and paid a vehicle tax of Rs.14,000/- in accordance with G.O.Ms.No.140, dated 12.08.2002. It appears that after completing the outbound leg, the return journey was commenced on 17.06.2017 and the vehicle entered the State of Andhra Pradesh on 19.06.2017 at about 12.30 a.m., which is the intervening night of 19.06.2017 and 20.06.2017, at Nagari. It is the case of the petitioner that as there was no boarder check post and since it was midnight, the driver in the bus could not pay the necessary weekly tax. The vehicle is said to have been taken to Tirupati and the driver of the vehicle was making ready to go to the appropriate authority for payment of vehicle tax on 20.06.2017. At that time, the 4th respondent has said to have seized the vehicle under vehicle check report No.1077146 dated 20.06.2017 on the ground of nonpayment of tax.

4. The petitioner contends that as the tourist party was stranded in Tirupati, she immediately went to Titupati and paid a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- towards quarterly tax for the quarter ending 30.06.2017 and a compounding fee of Rs.10,000/- and got the vehicle released.

5. The petitioner had, thereafter, approached this Court by way of the present writ petition contending that she was coerced into paying a quarterly tax of Rs.1,00,000/- and compounding fee of Rs.10,000/- when the sum that would have been demanded by her was, at best, a sum of Rs.14,000/- as G.O.Ms.No.140, dated 12.08.2002 gave an option to the vehicle owners to pay a weekly tax instead of a quarterly tax.

6. The 2nd respondent has filed a counter affidavit in which it was stated that the petitioner was liable to pay Rs.3,750/- per seat, per quarter in view of G.O.Ms.No.9, Tr.R&B(Tr.II), dated 01.02.2016 and in any event the said amount was paid voluntarily by the petitioner who got the vehicle released on making such payment.

7. The learned Government Pleader, while reiterating the averments in the counter affidavit, would submit that the tax was paid by the petitioner in June, 2017, while the present writ petition has been filed in August, 2019. He submits that there is no explanation by the petitioner as to the inordinate delay of two years in filing the present writ petition. He further submits that the petitioner has neither bothered to file a representation nor any proceedings before the authorities before filing of the present writ petition, which would only go to show that the present writ petition is an afterthought. He further submits that the petitioner had voluntarily paid the quarterly tax and in such circumstances, the petitioner cannot be permitted to go for payment of weekly tax instead of quarterly tax.

8. Sri Rajanikanth Jwala, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the 4th respondent had coerced the petitioner for paying quarterly tax instead of receiving weekly tax, as the 4th respondent was fully aware of the fact that the tourist party who had engaged the vehicle were stranded in Tirupati and there was immense pressure on the petitioner to get the vehicle released, so that, the tourist party could go back. He submits that on account of this coercion, payment was made by the petitioner and the said paym