ACT 7 OF 2002

THE KERALA FINANCE ACT, 2002 [1]

An Act to give effect to certain financial proposals of the Government of Kerala for the Financial Year 2002-2003.

            Preamble.--WHEREAS it is expedient to give effect to certain financial proposals of the Government of Kerala for the Financial Year 2002-2003.

             Be it enacted in the Fifty Third Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title and commencement.-(1) This Act may be called the Kerala Finance Act, 2002.

               (2)   Item (i) of sub-section (2), item (b) of sub-section (6) and sub-section (7) of section 3 of this Act, shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 2002 and shall be in force till the 2nd day of April, 2002;  sub-section (4) of section  3 and section 6 of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 31st day of Mach, 2002 and shall be in force till the 31st day of March, 2003 and the remaining provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 2002.

2.  Amendment of Act 1 of 1077.-- In the Abkari Act, 1077 (1 of 1077), -

             (1) in section 18, in sub-section (3), -   

              (a) after item (b) under the heading "(2) Luxury Tax" the following items and entries shall respectively be inserted, namely:--

"(c) when levied in the form of a fee for  licence for the sale of Foreign  Liquor  (Foreign made)	(i)  in whole sale	Rs.25,00,000(Rupees Twenty five lakhs) for a year or part thereof
	(ii)  in retail	Rs. 10,00,000 (Rupees Ten lakhs) for a year or part thereof
	(iii) in hotels or restaurants	Rs.25,00,000(Rupees Twenty five lakhs) for a year or part thereof
	(iv) in non-proprietary      clubs to its members	Rs, 10,00,000 (Rupees ten lakhs) for a year or part thereof
	(v) in Seamen's and   Marine officer's clubs to its members	Rs. 10,00,000 (Rupees Ten lakhs) for a year or part thereof
(d) When levied in the form of gallonage fee	(1) Foreign Liquor (Foreign made) other than beer and wine	Rs. 200 (Rupees two hundred) per bulk litre
	(2) For Foreign made  beer and wine	Rs. 25 (Rupees twenty five) per bulk litre";

(b) under the heading "(2) Luxury Tax", before the "Explanation", the following 'Note' shall be inserted, namely:-        "Note:-The expression 'Foreign Liquor (Foreign made)' means any liquor produced, manufactured, or blended and compounded abroad and imported into India by land, air or  sea";          (2)    in section  51, for the words and figures "Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898" the following words, figures and brackets shall be substituted, namely:-            "Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974)";          (3)    after section 66, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-            "67.  Power to compound offences in certain cases.--(1) The Commissioner may impose a fine of Rs.10,000 (Rupees ten thousand only) each on any person or persons holding a licence or permit under the Act, for the offences under section 56 (b) of the Act for variation of strength of foreign liquor beyond the prescribed limit as may be fixed  from time to time .              (2) The Commissioner may impose a fine of Rs.25,000 (Rupees twenty five thousand only) each on any person or persons holding a licence or permit under this Act for the violation by way of reconstitution, alteration or modification without the permission of the Commissioner of any deed on the strength of which any licence is granted.".          3.    Amendment of Act 15 of 1963.--In the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (15 of 1963), -            (1)   In section 5, clause (a) of  sub-section (2c) shall be omitted;            (2)   In section 5D,-                (i)   In clause (a) for the words and figures 'serial No. 108' the words and figures 'serial No.12 of the Fifth Schedule' shall be substituted;
(ii)  In the provision to clause (b) for the word and figures, 31st March, 2002" the words and figures "31st March, 2003" shall be substituted;          (3)   in section 7, in  sub-section (1), -               (a)   in clause (a) for the words "one hundred and fifty percent" the words "two hundred percent" shall be substituted; and after the words "immediate preceding year" the words, "or the tax paid for the immediate preceding year whichever is higher" shall be inserted;              (b)   the second and third provisos shall be omitted;              (c) in the fourth proviso for the words, "or on the basis of the quantum of compounded tax fixed for the previous year in accordance with  the second and third provisos as the case may be"  the words  "or on  the quantum of compounded tax fixed for the previous year in accordance with  clause (a)"  shall be substituted;          (4)   in section 17, in  sub-section (6), for the words  "four years",  the words "five years"  shall be substituted;          (5)  in section 27 A, sub-section (2) shall be omitted;          (6)  in the First Schedule,-               (a)   in serial number 20, in column (4), for the figure '1' the figure '4' shall be substituted;               (b)   serial number 108 and the entries against it shall be omitted;               (c)  in serial number 115, in  column (4), for the figure '1' the figure '4' shall be substituted;                 (7)  in the Fifth Schedule,-              (a)  after serial number 11 and the entries against it, the following serial number and entries shall be inserted, namely:-     "12-Petroleum Products, namely:-
(a) High Speed   Diesel Oil		At the point of First sale by an Oil Company liable to pay tax  under section 5 to another Oil Company	4     At the point    of Second Sale in the State by an       Oil Company		30    At the point             34 of First Sale in the State by a  dealer who is liable to pay tax under section 5 except where the sale is by an Oil Company to another Oil   Company
(b) Kerosene (c) Motor spirit  including     Light Diesel Oil (LDO) and    excluding Petrol Aviation Turbine Fuel and High    Speed Diesel Oil. (d) Naphtha (e) Petrol other than Naphtha (f)   Other Petroleum      products not elsewhere      mentioned in this Schedule      or in the First or Second Schedule		do              do                             do        do        do	4        do 4          do 4           do     4           do    4           do		8           do                       12 40          do                      44 30           do                    34 36           do                    40 26            do                   30
(g)  Aviation Turbine Fuel including aviation Gasoline (h)   Liquified Petroleum  gas (i)   Lubricating Oil, Grease, break fluid,transformer oil and other quenching oils	do             4           do             4           do             4			do               40     do                8         do                24		do                  44       do                 12        do                28

                 (b) to serial number 12, the following  "Explanation" shall be inserted, namely:-

"Explanation.--For the purpose of serial number 12   above  'Oil Company'   means

         Cochin   Refineries  Ltd.,  Indian  Oil   Corporation Ltd.,   Bharat   Petroleum

         Corporation Ltd.,  Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.,  Indo-Burma Petroleum

         Company Ltd., and includes such other company as the Government  may  by

         notification in the Gazette specify in this behalf.".

         4.    Amendment of Act 23 of 1975.--In the Kerala Chitties Act, 1975 (23 of 1975), -

              (1)  in section 3, for clause (b) of sub-section (5), the following shall be substituted, namely:-

                   "(b) in other cases 50 per cent of the net assets of the foreman: Provided that nothing contained in this sub section shall apply in case of any chitty  of which the foreman is a company owned by the Government of Kerala.";

             (2)  in section 4, after sub-section (1) the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-

            "(1) (a) Where a chitty is registered outside the State and twenty per cent or more of the subscribers are persons normally residing in this State, the foreman of the chitty shall open a branch in the state and obtain sanction and registration under the provisions of this Act.". 

            5.  Amendment of Act 32 of 1976.-- In the Kerala  Tax on Luxuries  Act, 1976 (32 of 1976), in section 4, in items (a), (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (2), for the words "per person" the words "per room" shall be substituted.

6.   Amendment of Act 15 of 1991.-- In the Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1991 (15 of 1991), in section 41, in sub section (2) for the words "five years", the words "six years" shall be substituted.

7.  Amendment of Act 15 of 1994.-In the Kerala  Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 1994 (15 of 1994), -

                (1)   after section 9 A, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-

                        "9B. Disposal of detained goods.--(1) The owner of the goods or his representative or other person in charge of the vehicle or vessel who imports goods mentioned in the Schedule to the Act shall stop the vehicle or vessel at the check post or other point of entry into the Local area and the officer in charge of the check post or any other officer not below the rank of Sales Tax Inspector/Assistant Sales Tax Officer may, if he finds on verification of documents that the import of goods attract liability under this Act or there is an attempt to evade tax under this Act, issue notice directing the owner of the goods or his representative or the person in charge of the vehicle or vessel requiring him to remit entry tax liable under this Act.

(2)  If the owner of the goods or his representative or other person in charge of the vehicle or vessel does not remit the required amount of tax within 14 days from the date of stopping the vehicle or vessel, the officer not below the rank of Sales Tax Inspector may, by order, seize the goods and forward the records to the Officer superior to him to pass order assessing the tax liable under this Act.

(3)  The officer to whom the records were transferred shall pass appropriate orders and direct the owner of goods to remit the tax assessed if any, within 30 days.

(4)  If the tax assessed is not remitted within the period mentioned in the order, the goods seized under sub-section (2) shall be sold by the officer who assessed the tax by public auction to the highest bidder and the sale proceeds shall be remitted in the Government Treasury.

(5) If the goods seized are of a perishable nature or subject to speedy and natural decay or when the expenses of keeping them in custody are likely to exceed their value, the officer in charge of the notified area shall immediately sell such goods or otherwise dispose of them  and remit the sale proceeds of such goods or the amount obtained by the disposal of such goods otherwise than by sale in the Government Treasury.";                            

        (2) in the Schedule, after serial number 25 and the entries against it, the following serial numbers and entries shall  respectively be inserted, namely:-

        "26. Electrical goods

         27.  Water supply and sanitary equipments and fittings

         28.  Oil, edible and inedible, including refined and hydrogenated oil and margarine

         29.  Timber

         30.  Granite metal, chips and powder

         31.  Ready mix concrete

         32.  Fans, Grinders, Cooking ranges, Water heaters, Electrical wiring cables and  ACSR  conductors

         33.  Live chicken and meat

         34.  Petroleum products, namely:-

              (i)  High speed diesel oil

              (ii)  Kerosene

              (iii)  Motor spirit including Light Diesel Oil (LDO) and excluding petrol, aviation turbine  fuel and high speed diesel oil

              (iv)   Naphtha

               (v)   Petrol other than Naphtha

               (vi)  Other Petroleum products not elsewhere mentioned in this Schedule or in the Firsts or Second or Fifth Schedule of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act 

               (vii)   Aviation Turbine Fuel including Aviation Gasoline      

               (viii)   Liquified Petroleum Gas

                (ix)    Lubricating Oil, Grease, Brake Fluid, Transformer Oil and other Quenching Oils.".