Court No. - 3
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 16006 of 2021 Petitioner :- Sanbiotech Private Ltd. And Another Respondent :- State Of U P And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Ved Byas Mishra Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Atul Tej Kulshrestha Hon'ble Naheed Ara Moonis,J. Hon'ble Saumitra Dayal Singh,J.
Learned counsel for the petitioners has filed supplementary affidavit today, is taken on record.
Heard Shri Ved Byas Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Standing Counsel for the State and Shri Atul Tej Kulshrestha, learned counsel for the Zila Panchayat.
Challenge has been raised to the recovery certificate dated 19.02.2021, issued by the respondent no. 4, seeking demand of Rs. 96,000/- and Rs. 42,000/- from the petitioner towards license fees.
Submission advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner is that by virtue of Section 158(2) read with Rule 15 of the U.P. Zila Panchayats (Imposition, Assessment and Collection of Circumstances and Property Tax) Rules, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules'), the Zila Panchayat is permitted to seek recovery of such taxes either through the mode provided under Section 147 to 155 of Chapter VIII of the Act or by seeking recovery as an arrears of the land revenue under Section 158 of the Act. In no circumstances, both modes be adopted, simultaneously.
Referring to the earlier demand notice dated 10.10.2019, it has been submitted that clearly, the respondent had adopted the mode provided under the provisions of Section 150 of the Act, therefore, they are restrained from seeking the same recovery by way of arrears of land revenue under Section 158(2) of the Act.
Submission of learned counsel for the petitioners is well founded.
Upon the matter being argued at some length, learned counsel for the respondent made a statement that the respondent-authority does not intend to press any further recovery under the provision of Section 147 to 155 of the Act. He further submitted that those proceedings would be withdrawn.
In view of such statement made, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction, subject to the respondent issuing a written communication to the petitioner, within a period of two weeks' from today, withdrawing the earlier recovery of the demand notice dated 10.10.2019 sought under Section 150 of the Act, the present recovery may be pursued under Section 158 of the Act read with Rule 15 of the Rules, such that no dual recovery may ever be made against the petitioner.
Order Date :- 12.8.2021 Saurabh