Kerala - Kollam   

Tax officials seize ‘aravana’ containers

KOLLAM: The seizure of two truckloads of ‘aravana’ containers meant for Sabarimala at the Aryankavu check-post by the Commercial Taxes Department on Sunday triggered a controversy.

As per rules, consignments meant for the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) are exempted from commercial taxes and this has been affirmed by the State government before the High Court.

But early Sunday morning, the containers were seized along with the trucks which were transporting them. The containers were from Tamil Nadu and addressed to the TDB at Sabarimala.

The seizure was made because the consignment was not accompanied by a Value Added Tax (VAT) registration. The trucks were released later in the day after levying a security deposit. However, top officers of the Commercial Taxes Department said that the seizure was a faux pas. Consignments to the TDB and the Guruvayur Devaswom Board require no VAT registration.

When higher-ups contacted the officers at the check-post, it was explained that they suspected that the consignment could have been for someone else under the guise of the TDB secretary’s address.

So a notice was issued and based on the notice, the security deposit was levied. But later it was confirmed that the containers were a direct supply to the TDB as the board was directly packing aravana at Sabarimala.

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Tax officials seize ‘aravana’ containers

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