Section 4A in The West Bengal Rural Employment And Production Act, 1976
4A. [ Levy, recovery, etc., of cess in respect of coal mines.] [Section 4A inserted by W.B. Act 5 of 1982.] - Notwithstanding anything contained in the Cess Act, 1880, -
(a)[ the rural employment cess payable for a year under sub-section (1) of section 4 in respect of a coal-bearing land referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2) of that section shall be paid by the owner of such coal-bearing land in such manner, at such intervals and by such dates as may be prescribed;] [[Clause (a) Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992, which was earlier as under :-'(a) on and from the 15th day of April, 1982, the rural employment cess payable under sub-section (1) of section 4 in respect of coal from such coal mines referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2) of that section on despatches of coal mines shall be paid by the owner of the coal mine in such manner, for such period and by such date as may be prescribed, and shall be levied by such authority as may be notified by the State Government in this behalf in the Official Gazette in such manner as may be prescribed (hereinafter referred to as the notified authority);']](b)[ every owner of a coal-bearing land shall furnish a declaration relating to a year showing the amount of rural employment cess payable by him under clause (a) in such form and by such date as may be prescribed and to such authority as may be notified by the State Government in this behalf in the Official Gazette (hereinafter referred to as the notified authority);] [[Clause (b) Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992, which was earlier us under:'(b) every owner of a coal mine shall file return showing the amount of rural employment cess payable by him under clause (a) in such form, for such period and by such date as may be prescribed:Provided that the amount of rural employment cess payable by the owner of a coal mine for any period under clause (a) shall be paid by him before he files a return in respect of such period under this clause;'.]](c)every owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Words Substituted for the words 'coal mine' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] shall be liable to pay, by way of penalty in default of payment of the rural employment cess payable by him under clause (a) or filing without any reasonable cause the [declaration] [Word Substituted for the word 'return' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] under clause (b) for any [year] [Word Substituted for the word 'period' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] by the prescribed date, an amount, not exceeding the amount of such cess payable for such [year] [Word Substituted for the word 'period' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] as may be levied by the notified authority at the time of assessment of such cess under clause (d), in such manner as may be prescribed:Provided that the notified authority shall give the owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Words Substituted for the words 'coal mine' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] an opportunity of being heard before imposition of such penalty:[Provided further that if interest is payable by the owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Proviso inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] under clause (ga) or clause (gb) for failure to make full payment of rural employment cess in respect of any [year] [Word Substituted for the word 'period' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.],] -(i)no penalty under this clause for default of payment of the rural employment cess under clause (a) shall be imposed upon him, and(ii)the penalty under this clause for default in filing without reasonable cause the [declaration] [Word substituted for the word 'return' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] under clause (b) for such period by the prescribed date shall not exceed five lakh rupees for each such [declaration] [Word Substituted for the word 'return' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] or ten per centum of the amount of rural employment cess assessed (not excluding any amount paid) under clause (d) by the notified authority for such [year] [Word substituted for the word 'period' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.], whichever is less;(d)[ the rural employment cess under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 4 shall be assessed by the notified authority in the manner prescribed, and if the declaration under clause (b) is not accepted, the owner of the coal-bearing land shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before making such assessment;] [[Clause (d) Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992 which was earlier as under :-'(d) the rural, employment cess under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 4 on despatches of coal on and from the 15th day of April, 1982, shall be assessed by the notified authority in the manner prescribed, and if the return under clause (b) is not accepted, the owner of the coal mine shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before making such assessment;'.]](e)an appeal, revision or review, as the case may be, from an order of assessment or any other order passed under this section shall lie to such authority, on such conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed;(f)recovery of the rural employment cess assessed under clause (d) or refund of any amount of such cess found to have been paid in excess after assessment shall be made in the manner prescribed:[Provided that the notified authority may proceed to recover any unpaid amount of rural employment cess assessed as if it were an arrear of land revenue and may, for that purpose, forward a certificate to such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed;] [Proviso inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.](g)every owner [coal-bearing land] [Words Substituted for the words 'coal mine' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] shall be liable to pay, by way of penalty in default, without reasonable cause, of payment of the rural employment cess assessed under clause (d) by the date specified in the notice of demand issued in this behalf, an amount not exceeding the amount of such cess so remaining unpaid, and such penalty may be imposed by the notified authority in the manner prescribed:Provided that the notified authority shall give the owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Words Substituted for the words 'coal mine' by W.B. Act 2 of 1992.] an opportunity of being heard before imposition of such penalty:[Provided further that no penalty under this clause shall be imposed in respect of an assessment of rural employment cess for which interest is payable under clause (gc) and clause (gf);] [Proviso inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.](ga)[ where an owner of a coal-bearing land furnishes a declaration referred to in clause (b) in respect of any year by the prescribed date or thereafter, but fails to make full payment of rural employment cess payable in respect of such period by such date as may be prescribed under clause (a), he shall pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month of default in payment under clause (a) from the first day of such month next following the prescribed date up to the month preceding the month of full payment of such cess or up to the month prior to the month of assessment under clause (d) in respect of such period, whichever is earlier, upon so much of the amount of rural employment cess payable by him according to clause (a) as remains unpaid at the end of each such month of default;] [[Clauses (ga) to (gh) first inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986, then Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992. Previous clause (g1) was as under :-'(ga) where an owner of a coal mine files a return referred to in clause (b) in respect of any period by the prescribed date or thereafter, by fails to make full payment of rural employment cess payable in respect of such period by such prescribed date, he shall pay a simple interest at the rate or two per centum for each English calendar month of default from the first day of such month next following the prescribed date up to the month preceding the month of full payment of such cess or up to the month prior to the month of assessment under clause (d) in respect of such period, whichever is earlier, upon so much of the amount of rural employment cess payable by him according to such return as remains unpaid at the commencement of each such month:Provided that where after an assessment is made under clause (d) in respect of any period, it is found that the amount of rural employment cess assessed (not excluding any amount paid) for such period exceeds the amount paid by such owner under clause (a) for such period by more than ten per centum of such amount of rural employment cess paid, the owner of the coal mine shall pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month from the first day of such month next following the date prescribed for filing of the last return for such period up to the month prior to the month of such assessment, upon the amount of rural employment cess assessed as due;.']](gb)[ where an owner of a coal-bearing land fails to furnish a declaration referred to in clause (b) in respect of any year by the prescribed date or thereafter before the assessment under clause (d) in respect of such year and, on such assessment, full amount of rural employment cess payable for such year is found not to have been paid in the manner and by the date prescribed under clause (a), he shall pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month of default in payment under clause (a) from the first day of the month next following the prescribed date for such payment up to the month preceding the month of full payment of rural employment cess under clause (a) or up to the month prior to the month of such assessment under clause (d), whichever is earlier, upon so much of the amount of rural employment cess payable by him according to clause (a) as remains unpaid at the end of each such month of default: [[Clause (ga) to (g1) first inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986, then Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992. Previous clause (gb) was as under :-'(gb) where an owner of a coal mine fails to furnish a return referred to in clause (b) in respect of any period by the prescribed date or thereafter before the assessment under clause (d) in respect of such period and, on such assessment, full amount of rural employment cess payable for such period is found not to have been paid by him by such prescribed date, he shall pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month of default from the first day of the month next following the prescribed date up to the month preceding the month of full payment of rural employment cess for such period or up to the month prior to the month of assessment under clause (d) in respect of such period, whichever is earlier, upon so much of the rural employment cess payable by him according to such assessment as remains unpaid at the commencement of such month:Provided that where an assessment under clause (d) is made for more than one return period and such assessment does not show separately the rural employment cess payable for the period in respect of which interest is payable under this clause, the notified authority shall estimate the rural employment cess payable for such period on the basis of such assessment after giving the owner an opportunity of being heard;'.]]Provided that where the rural employment cess payable under clause (a) is not paid in the manner prescribed under that clause by the owner of a coal-bearing land, the notified authority shall, while making the assessment under clause (d) in respect of a year apportion on the basis of such assessment the rural employment cess payable in accordance with clause (a);](gc)[ where an owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] fails to make payment of any rural employment cess payable after assessment under clause (d) by the date specified in the notice of demand issued in this behalf, he shall pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month of default from the first day of the month next following the last date for payment specified in such notice up to the month preceding the month of full payment of such cess or of forwarding of the certificate to the prescribed authority for recovery of the rural employment cess under the proviso to clause (f), whichever is earlier, upon so much of the amount of rural employment cess payable by him according to such notice as remains unpaid at the commencement of each such month;](gd)[ whereas a result of an order passed on an appeal, revision or review under clause (e), the amount of rural employment cess payable is reduced, the interest payable under clause (gc) shall be determined or redetermined on the basis of such reduced amount and the excess interest paid, if any, shall be refunded;] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.](ge)[ the notified authority shall, in the prescribed manner, pay a simple interest at the rate of two per centum for each English calendar month of delay in making refund to an owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] of the amount of rural employment cess paid in excess, when such excess payment arises out of an order passed, on an appeal, revision or review under clause (c), alter the date of coming into force of section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1986, from the first day of the month next following the expiry of three months from the date of such order up to the month preceding the month in which the refund is made under clause (f), upon the amount of rural employment cess refundable to him according to such order;](gf)[ interest under clause (ga) or clause (gb) shall be payable in respect of payment of rural employment cess which falls due on any day after the 30th day of April, 1992, and interest under clause (gc) shall be payable in respect of assessments for which notices of demand of rural employment cess under clause (d) are issued on or after the date of commencement of the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1992:] [[Clauses (ga) to (gl) first inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986, then Substituted by W.B. Act 2 of 1992. Previous clause (gf) was as under:'(gf) interest under clause (ga) or clause (gb) shall be payable in respect of return, the prescribed dates for furnishing of which under clause (b) are the dates subsequent to, and interest under clause (gc) shall be payable in respect of assessments for which the notices of demand of rural employment cess assessed under clause (d) are issued after the date of coming into force of section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1986;']]Provided that interest under clause (ga) or clause (gb) in respect of any period ended on or before the 31st day of March, 1992, or interest under clause (gc) in respect of assessments for which notices of demand of rural employment cess under clause (d) are issued before the date of commencement of the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1992, shall continue to be payable in accordance with the provisions of this Act as they stood before the coming into force of the said Act as if the said Act had not come into force;(gg)[ in calculating the interest payable under clause (ga), clause (gb) or clause (gc), the amount of rural employment cess in respect of which such interest is to be calculated shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of one hundred rupees and, for this purpose, where such amount contains a part of one hundred rupees, then, if such part is fifty rupees or more, it shall be increased to one hundred rupees and if such part is less than fifty rupees, it shall be ignored;] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.](gh)[ where an owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] is liable to pay interest under clause (ga), clause (gb) or clause (gc), he shall pay such interest in such manner and by such date or dates as may be prescribed;](gi)[ where the notified authority is satisfied that an owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] is liable to pay interest under clause (ga), clause (gb) or clause (gc), he shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, determine the amount of interest payable by such owner; and if, on such determination, any additional amount becomes payable by such owner or any excess amount becomes refundable to such owner, the notified authority shall issue a notice, in the prescribed manner, to such owner directing him to pay such additional amount or informing him of the amount of excess payment, as the case may be;](gj)[ where there is an apparent mistake in the determination of interest under clause (gi), the notified authority may, on his own motion within four years, or upon application made by an owner of a [coal-bearing land] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.] within six months, from the date of such determination, rectify the amount of interest payable by such owner and issue a fresh notice in the prescribed manner;](gk)[ recovery of any amount of interest determined or redetermined under clause (gd), clause (gi) or clause (gj) or refund of any amount of interest found to have been paid in excess under any such clause shall be made in the manner prescribed: [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.]Provided that the notified authority may proceed to recovery unpaid amount of interest determined or redetermined as if it were an arrear of land revenue and may, for the purpose, forward a certificate to such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed;](gl)[ the State Government may by rules prescribe that no interest shall be payable, or interest shall be payable at such rete, lower than that specified under clause (ga), clause (gb) or clause (gc), in respect of such period or in such cases or under such circumstances and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be provided therein;] [Clauses (ga) to (gl) inserted by W.B. Act 1 of 1986.](h)the State Government or the notified authority may appoint persons to assist the notified authority;(i)any powers, duties or functions of the notified authority may be delegated to any person appointed under clause (h) in such manner as may be prescribed.
