TRADE CIRCULAR No.03/2024 – KERALA GST
1. Tax liability up to Rs.50000 in a tax assessment order under this scheme shall be treated as discharged by the applicant without submission of application.
2. For settlement of tax arrears under this scheme, the applicant should submit the application only after paying the amount due under the scheme online through the e-treasury portal.
3. In GST The benefit of this scheme is available to those who are in arrears of tax, interest, penalty and surcharge to the government as per the tax assessment/penalty and imposition orders (specified order) up to the financial years 2017-18 on the laws prior to the coming into force of the law and those who are involved in legal proceedings related to the said orders.
4. GST Tax arrears up to the financial year 2017-18 under the following Acts prior to the coming into force of the Act can be cleared through the scheme.
1. Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (KVAT Act, 2003)
2. Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (KGST Act,1963)
3. Kerala Surcharge on Tax Act, 1957
4. Kerala AIT Act, 1956
5. Kerala Luxury Tax Act, 1976 (Kerala LT Act, 1976)
6. Central Sales Tax Act, 1991 (CST Act, 1991)
5. However, the arrears of tax and turnover tax determined in connection with the sale of liquor under section 5 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (KGST Act, 1963) and the arrears of compounding tax determined in connection with the sale of liquor under section 7 cannot be settled through this scheme.
6. Under this scheme, the arrears are divided into four slabs based on the amount of tax. Those who submit the application along with the relevant documents by paying the tax in each slab as mentioned below, will be fully exempted from the outstanding penalty and interest as per the said assessment order.
- Disputes involving up to ₹50,000 can be settled without further payment.
- Disputes between ₹50,000 and ₹10 lakh can be settled by paying 30% of the tax due.
- Disputes between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore can be settled by paying 40% of the tax due (if in litigation) or 50% (if not in litigation).
- Disputes involving over ₹1 crore can be settled by paying 70% of the tax due (if in litigation) or 80% (if not in litigation).
7. If there are appeals or cases pending before the First Appellate Authority, Tribunal, High Court and Supreme Court against the tax assessment orders, the amount of tax included in such orders may be considered as ‘Disputed Tax’.
8. The slabs are calculated on the basis of the amount of tax included in the arrears. For example, suppose a trader owes a total of Rs 13 lakhs as per an assessment order including tax of Rs 8 lakhs, interest of Rs 3 lakhs and penalty of Rs 2 lakhs. Later is the second slab based on the amount of tax due (Rs. 8 lakhs). Fifty thousand to 10 lakhs will be included. 2,40,000 should be submitted online through the e-treasury portal to clear the arrears through this scheme.
9. The slab to which an applicant belongs should be calculated on the basis of the amount of tax included in the tax assessment order on which the scheme is selected. Thus, after determining the amount to be paid under the scheme, if any amount has been paid to the government in relation to the said order before the project from the T amount, it is enough to reduce the amount and pay the remaining amount. For example, suppose there is a liability of Rs.8 lakhs as tax and Rs.3 lakhs as interest under an assessment order; A person who has already paid Rs.1 Lakh in interest must pay Rs.1,40,000/- (One Hundred and Forty Thousand) and submit an application for settlement of arrears under this amnesty scheme. Because the aforesaid arrears are included in the second slab, 30% of the tax amount of 8 lakhs as per the original assessment order is Rs. 2,40,000/-, the amount to be collected under the scheme is sufficient if person T pays the interest earlier in connection with the said order and deducts Rs. 1 lakh and settles the balance.
10. In order to clear the dues under this scheme, after paying the amount, the application should be submitted online by visiting the web portal of Amnesty 2024 scheme “www.etreasury.kerala.gov.in”.
11. Applicants should collect the due tax under this scheme through the official web portal of the State Treasury Department “www.etreasury.kerala.gov.in”. The “Treasury Head of Account” of the respective Acts should be used to settle the arrears in the various tax Acts involved in the scheme. They are added below.
| HEAD OF INCOME | PARTICULARS |
| KVAT Act,2003 | |
| 0040-00-110-99-01-00-00-N-V | Value Added Tax |
| 0040-00-110-99-02-00-00-N-V | Presumptive Tax |
| 0040-00-110-99-03-00-00-N-V | Compounded Tax |
| KGST Act,1963 | |
| 0040-00-102-99-00-00-00-N-V | Tax Collections |
| 0040-00-102-98-00-00-00-N-V | Surcharge |
| CST Act, 1991 | |
| 0040-00-101-99-00-00-00-N-V | Tax Collections |
| 0040-00-101-98-00-00-00-N-V | Surcharge |
| Kerala AIT Act, 1956 | |
| 0022-00-101-99-00-00-00-N-V | Agricultural Income Tax |
| 0022-00-103-99-00-00-00-N-V | Surcharge |
| KERALA TAX ON LUXURIES, 1976 | |
| 0045-00-105-99-00-00-00-N-V | Tax Collections |
13. While submitting the application online under the amnesty scheme the following documents are required to be submitted online along with the application in pdf format. Applications not submitted with applicable supporting documents will also be rejected.
1. Assessment/penalty order accepting amnesty scheme or other documents indicating tax arrears.
2. E-Treasury Challan of payment made towards settlement of dues under amnesty scheme.
3.Challan/challans in respect of which the amount has already been partially paid as per the assessment order accepting the amnesty scheme.
4. The said order in cases where modification is not affected by order of appellate/revisional authorities or court orders.
5. Leave to Withdraw if any appeal or case has been filed.
14. In cases where no order of modification has been passed as per the orders of any appellate and revisional authorities or orders of the court, while filing the amnesty application ‘Application as per Sub-section (3) of Section 9 of ‘The Kerala Finance Act, 2024’ should be applied under the category. As such, those who apply can submit their application in advance. However, to get the benefits of the scheme, the amount to be settled under the scheme should be calculated and settled as mentioned above within sixty days of receiving the modification order.
15. If the amount submitted along with the application is less, the concerned officials will check the application and inform the applicant about the less amount through ‘Demand Notice’. Only if the amount is paid through the e-treasury portal within sixty days of receiving the notice, the arrears concessions under the scheme will be fully availed. After 60 days, only reduced rate concessions notified by the government will be available. The last date of withdrawal under this scheme is March 31, 2025.
16. In case of tax arrears under more than one assessment order for availing amnesty scheme, separate application for settlement of arrears under each assessment order is required.For example, suppose an applicant has tax arrears of Rs.5 lakhs under one assessment order in the financial year 2012-13, Rs.8 lakhs under another assessment order and Rs.3 lakhs under one assessment order in the financial year 2013-14. For settlement of arrears of these three orders through amnesty scheme, separate applications should be submitted for each assessment order.
17. In orders subject to reassessment (fresh assessment of remanded cases, modification and rectification), the amount of tax determined under reassessment should be considered for calculating the arrears. For example, if an applicant’s tax amount as per original assessment for the financial year 2012-13 is reassessed from 5 lakhs to 4 lakhs after reassessment, the arrears will be 4 lakhs / if reassessed to 6 lakhs, the arrears will be 6 lakhs.
18. If the amount of tax due under the amnesty scheme relating to any assessment order has already been paid by the said applicant whether or not in connection with revenue recovery proceedings, the applicant need not make a separate application for settlement of such arrears of tax. A settlement certificate will be made available for settlement of such arrears.
19. In cases where only penalty (fine) has been demanded, if the assessment of tax related to it has not yet been completed, the amnesty scheme amount of tax related to T penalty should be calculated and submitted through the e-treasury portal to the amnesty scheme.
20. Only the applications submitted within 60 days of the commencement of the scheme by paying the applicable amount under the scheme will get the full benefit of the scheme. Those who do not join within the stipulated time will be allowed only minimum concessions as notified by the Government later. Applications can be submitted under this scheme till December 31, 2024
21. If the arrears are settled under the amnesty scheme, the applicant will get a settlement certificate. After the amnesty application is approved by the concerned officer, the applicant can download the settlement certificate from the amnesty portal. In cases where the settlement certificate is not received, the arrears cannot be considered as settled
22. Appeals against orders under the amnesty scheme should be filed before the respective District Joint Commissioner, Taxpayer Services.
23. The officer concerned has the power to cancel the certificate within two years of issuing the certificate if it is found that the applicant has concealed any facts or submitted false facts in the application submitted under the amnesty scheme.
24. Any excess of tax paid by the applicant for any assessment year as per settlement shall not be considered for allocation towards settlement amount of other years/other orders or shall be given as refund
25. Excess input tax credit under any Act cannot be set off against the settlement amount under this scheme.
26. If there is any shortfall in the amount to be paid under the scheme, if it is not made up by March 31, 2025, the exemptions of the amnesty scheme will not be available. In such cases, the amount collected under the amnesty scheme will be set aside as payment of the original arrears and revenue recovery proceedings will continue. Provided that in cases where the modification order referred to in paragraph 14 is not received, the closing date under this scheme shall be within 120 days of receipt of the said order.
27. The business community and tax-paying individuals should make the most of this opportunity. For clearing doubts visit the official website of the department www.keralataxes.gov.In or visit the Department’s Arrears Recovery Office/ Taxpayer Services Circle Office.