Section 43 in The Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1991
43. Procedure when identical question of law is pending before High Court or Supreme Court.
(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where an assessee claims that any question of law arising in his case for an assessment year which is pending before the Agricultural Income tax Officer, or any appellate authority (such case being hereafter in this section referred to as the relevant case) is identical with a question of law arising in his case for another assessment year which is pending before the High Court in revision or in appeal (such case being hereafter in this section referred to as the other case), he may furnish to the Agricultural Income tax Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, a declaration in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner, that if the Agricultural Income tax Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, agrees to apply to the relevant case the final decision on the question of law in the other case, he shall not raise such question of law in the relevant case in appeal before any appellate authority or for a revision before any authority or before the High Court or in appeal before the Supreme Court.(2)Where a declaration under sub-section (1) is furnished to any appellate authority, the appellate authority shall call for a report from the Agricultural Income tax Officer on the correctness of the claim made by the assessee and, where the Agricultural Income tax Officer makes a request to the appellate authority to give him an opportunity of being heard in the matter the appellate authority shall allow him such opportunity.(3)The Agricultural Income tax Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, may, by order in writing,(i)admit the claim of the assessee if he or it is satisfied that the question of law arising in the relevant case is identical with the question of law in the other case; or(ii)reject the claim if he or it is not so satisfied.(4)Where a claim is admitted under sub-section (3),-(a)the Agricultural Income tax Officer or, as the case may be, the appellate authority may make an order disposing of the relevant case without awaiting the final decision on the question of law in the other case; and(b)the assessee shall not be entitled to raise, in relation to the relevant case, such question of law in appeal before any appellate authority or for a revision before the High Court or in appeal before the Supreme Court.(5)When the decision on the question of law in the other case becomes final, it shall be applied to the relevant case and the Agricultural Income tax Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, shall, if necessary, amend the order referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (4) conformably to such decision.(6)An order under sub-section (5) shall be final and shall not be called in question in any proceedings by way of appeal, or revision under this Act.(7)Whereas any question of law decided by the High Court is applied by the Agricultural Income Tax Officer or the appellate authority to decide any case before him and that decision is over ruled by the High Court or by the Supreme Court, the Agricultural Income tax Officer or the appellate authority as the case may be may review the case in accordance with the later decision and the period of limitation prescribed under any of the provisions of the Act shall not apply to such review.Explanation: - in this section-(a)"Appellate Authority" means the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal;(b)"Case", in relation to an assessee, means any proceeding under this Act for the assessment of the total agricultural income of the assessee or for the imposition of any penalty on him.
