Fairness in tax administration requires authorities to assist taxpayers, and penalties cannot be imposed for circumstances beyond taxpayer control.

J U D G M E N T

The petitioner is a tourist vehicle operator who obtained Ext.P1 contract carriage permit from Tamil Nadu and an authorisation under Section 88 (9) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 , to ply between Tamil Nadu and Kerala on a regular basis.

2. The petitioner has been paying the tax due to the respondents under the provisions of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1976 , as seen from Ext.P3 dated 27.07.2024, which are the quarterly payments made on 30^th September 2024 and 30^th December 2024.

3. The petitioner contends that he attempted to pay the tax for the quarter 01.04.2025 to 30.06.2025, on the previous day, i.e 31.03.2025, and due to an issue with the Parivahan portal, attempts to make the payment were unsuccessful, for reasons beyond the control of the petitioner. The petitioner's vehicle, however, continued with its schedule and conducted the journey to Ernakulam on the evening of 31.03.2025 and entered the State in the morning of 01.04.2025. The petitioner's vehicle was intercepted, as seen from Ext.P7 on 01.04.2025

4. The petitioner submits that he could not make the payment of tax on 01.04.2025 due to technical glitches in the software. He later remitted the tax on 01.04.2025 itself at 10:39 AM.

5. It is not in dispute that the petitioner was issued with an All India Contract Carriage Permit dated 10^th June 2024, effective till 06^th June 2025 and an All India Tourist Vehicle Authorisation for one year, valid from 07^th June 2024 till 6^th June 2025. The payments referred to in Exts.P3 to P5 show that he was remitting the quarterly tax as stipulated in the Motor Vehicles Taxation Rules before the commencement of the quarter.

6. The petitioner's contention that he could not pay the tax for the quarter concerned due to technical reasons is answered by the Government, stating that the petitioner has not produced anything to support the claim of unsuccessful payment attempts and that the Parivahan Sewa portal had effectively served many others during the time frame with no reports of technical difficulties. It is to be noticed that the petitioner had paid the tax through Ext.P5, which has a validity till 31^st March 2025.

7. The relevant provision in the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act 1976 reads as follows;

“3. Levy of Tax.-

(1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, on and from the date of commencement of this Act, a tax shall be levied on every motor vehicle used or kept for use in the state, at the rate specified for such vehicle in the Schedule:

xx xx xx (5) The tax payable for temporary license in respect of a motor vehicle shall be,-

(a)where the temporary license is for a period not exceeding seven days, at the rate of one-tenth of the quarterly tax on that motor vehicle; and (b)where the temporary license is for a period exceeding seven days but not exceeding thirty days, at the rate of one-third of the quarterly tax on that motor vehicle:

[Provided further that in the case of vehicles covered with permit under subsection (9) of Section 88 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Central Act 59 of 1988) and registered in any State other than in the State of Kerala and entering the State of Kerala and staying therein, the tax shall be payable from the date of entry till the end of the quarter at the rate specified for such vehicles in the Schedule.]

[Provided also that in the case of Transport Vehicles registered in any State or Union Territories other than the State of Kerala and found operating in the State of Kerala without remitting tax