The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No taxing the deceased: HC

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Wednesday, Jun 04, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No taxing the deceased: HC

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday rejected the Government’s contention that even the dead should pay taxes if his or her name appeared in documents as the owner of a motor vehicle.

A Division Bench comprising Justice K.L. Manjunath and Justice B.V. Nagaratna dismissed the State appeal against a single judge order quashing the notices issued by the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) of Mangalore and the Deputy Commissioner of Transport, Shimoga, asking the wife of a dead man to pay taxes for a lorry her husband had owned.

The Bench upheld the stand of the widow of the lorry owner that she is not liable to pay motor vehicle tax on the lorry. According to the State, a lorry had been registered in the name of Aithappa Bhandary since January 27, 1989. It said Aithappa died on July 4, 1997. The motor vehicle tax for the vehicle was paid till June 30, 2000. After Aithappa’s death, his wife applied before the Mangalore RTO for non-use of the vehicle. She did not notify the death of her husband to the RTO. The application for non-use was signed as “for” Aithappa.

The State said the RTO inferred that Aithappa was still alive and gave an endorsement in his name when the application for non-use was submitted. When the RTO came to know that Aithappa was dead, he sent another endorsement saying that the application for no-use of the vehicle could not be accepted. He said the vehicle permit and taxation card of the lorry had not been surrendered.

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