The Corporation cannot recover property tax beyond three years prior to demand notices as established by prior legal rulings.

J U D G M E N T

The petitioners are the joint owners of the building Nos.

2153, 2154, 2155 and 2155A in division No.46 of the 1^st respondent Corporation. The grievance highlighted by the petitioners pertains to Exts.P4 to P7 demand notices issued to the petitioners, requiring them to pay property tax in respect of the said building from the year 2016-17 onwards till 2024-25. The challenge raised by the petitioner is mainly on the reason that, the said notices are hit by the period of limitation contemplated under Sec.539 of the Kerala Municipality Act . 2. After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Standing counsel for the respondents, I find merits in the challenge raised by the petitioner. This is particularly because, the contentions raised by the petitioners is already settled by this Court in The Gateway Hotels v. Kochi Municipal Corporation in WP(C) NO. 16984 OF 2020 and connected cases, wherein this Court has categorically held that the Corporation/Municipality cannot recover the arrears of property tax beyond a period of three years preceding to the date of the demand. The said judgment is already upheld by the Division Bench of this Court as well.

3. In such circumstances, interference is required.

Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of quashing Exts.P4 to P7, with a direction to the respondents, to issue a fresh assessment order and demand, confining the period of assessment to three years preceding to the date of Exts.P4 to P7.

As the petitioners have already made the payment of tax from 2021-2022 based on the interim order passed by this Court, it is ordered that, amount paid by the petitioners shall be given due credit in the tax assessed as referred to above.

Sd/-

ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A.

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