The period of limitation under Section 539 of the Kerala Municipality Act restricts tax recovery for property sold less than three years prior.

JUDGMENT

The petitioner is the auction purchaser of the property originally belonging to respondents 2 and 3. Ext.P1 is the sale certificate issued in favour of the petitioner. Subsequently, as the building which is situated in the property was remaining unoccupied, the petitioner submitted Exts.P4 and P5 applications for vacancy remission on 21.06.2023 and 30.03.2024 before the 1^st respondent, seeking exemption from payment of property tax for the building. However, without considering the same, Exts.P7 and P8 demand notices were issued, which were addressed to the previous owners of the property, requiring to pay arrears of property tax pertaining to 2016-2017 to 2024-2025. The petitioner is aggrieved by the same. It is also the case of the petitioner that, even though the petitioner submitted Ext.P9 request for determining the tax liability of the petitioner after considering the applications for vacancy remission, the same was also not considered. It was in these circumstances, this writ petition is submitted by the petitioner seeking the following reliefs:

“i. To issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ order or direction directing the respondents 1 & 5 not to effect any recovery proceedings against the petitioner and his properties to recover the property tax liability of the 2 nd respondent pursuant to Exhibit P7 & P8;

ii. To declare that the petitioner is not liable to pay any property tax for the building No. 229 and 230 in ward No.2 of Perinthalmanna Municipality for the period prior to 3.5.2023 the date of execution of Exhibit P1 sale certificate in favour of the petitioner.

iii. To issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction directing the 1 st respondent to grant vacancy remission as claimed by the petitioner in Ext.P4 to P6 for the period from 2023 to 2024 and

2024 to 2025.

iv. To issue writ of mandamus or any other writ or direction directing 1 st respondent not to effect any recovery of property tax from the petitioner for the period 3 years prior to the demand made in Exhibit P7 and P8 in the light of section 539 of the Kerala Municipality Act .

v. To issue writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the 1 st respondent to effect the ownership change in the assessment register of the 1 st respondent in respect of the building No.229 and 230 in Ward No.2 of the Perinthalmanna Municipality accepting the property tax from the petitioner from 3.5.2023 and affording applicable vacancy remission.

vi. To dispense with the production of English translation of documents in vernacular languages.

and vi. To pass such other and further orders as are deemed just and necessary in the facts and circumstances of the case.

2. One of the main contentions raised by the petitioner is that, Exts.P7 and P8 demand notices are not legally sustainable in view of the fact that the same is hit by the period of limitation as contemplated under Section 539 of the Kerala Municipality Act , which prescribes three years as the limitation. Apart from the above, it is pointed out that, Exts.P4 and P5 applications submitted by the petitioner for vacancy remission are also not acted upon.

3. After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned standing counsel, I am of the view that this writ petition can be disposed of in view of the fact that the contention raised by the petitioner with regard to the limitation is already settled by this Court in Gateway Hotels, Ernakulam v. Kochi Municipal Corporation [2025 (3) KHC 245] .

Thus, Exts.P7 and P8 are quashed with a direction to the 1^st respondent to re-assess the tax, confining the period of assessment to three