The Commercial Taxes Department here has declined to accept advance tax for selling Bhutan lottery in the State from their distributors in Kerala – the Megha Distributors here on Saturday.
The officials of the Taxes Department here told the representatives of Megha Distributors that they are not in a position to take a decision on the matter as they have not yet received the order of the Kerala High Court on the enforcement of lottery rules brought by the State government delivered on Friday.
The officials also told the lottery agents that they have not received any direction from the State government to accept the tax.
So the Taxes Department officials declined to accept the advance tax from Megha Distributors on Saturday.
They have also learned to have told the representatives of the Bhutan lottery agents that the State government is going to the Supreme Court in appeal against the order of the Kerala High Court.
The officials of Megha Distributors of Palakkad went to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes here on Saturday morning to pay the advance tax to sell Bhutan lottery for the month of February in Kerala in the light of the High Court order restraining the State government in enforcing the provisions of the Kerala Tax on Paper Lotteries (Amendment) Rules seeking to increase the tax on paper lotteries and laying down new stipulations for selling lotteries of other State in Kerala, till the dispositions challenging the Kerala Tax on Paper Lotteries Ordinance on Friday.
Justice K.C. Abdul Rehim of Kerala High Court also directed the Commercial Taxes Department to accept the advance tax for selling the Bhutan lotteries from Megha Distributors and other promoters of the lotteries in the State.
It is to be noted that earlier also the Megha Distributors approached the Taxes Department to pay advance tax for Bhutan and other State lotteries. But the State government had instructed not to accept the taxes as it does not want to allow any other State’s lottery in the State.
For this purpose the Government brought the Kerala Tax on Paper Lotteries (Amendment) Rules seeking to increase the tax on paper lotteries and laying down new stipulating for selling lotteries of other States.
