42. Payment and recovery of tax, penalty, etc .

(1) Save as otherwise provided for in section 21, the tax assessed or has become payable under this Act from a dealer or person and any other amount due from him under this Act shall be paid in such manner and in such instalments, if any, and within such time as may be specified in the notice of assessment, not being less than thirty days from the date of service of the notice. The tax under section 21 shall be paid without any notice of demand. In default of such payment, the whole of the amount outstanding on the date of the default shall become immediately due and shall be a charge on the properties of the person or persons liable to pay the tax or penalty or interest under this Act.

(2) Any tax assessed on or has become payable by, or any other amount due under this Act from a dealer or person and any fee due from him under this Act, shall, subject to the claim of the Government in respect of land revenue and the claim of the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank in regard to the property mortgaged to it under sub-section (2) of section 28 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act, 1983 (Tamil Nadu Act 30 of 1983), have priority over all other claims against the property of the said dealer or person and the same may without prejudice to any other mode of collection be recovered, -- (a) as land revenue, or (b) on application to any Magistrate, by such Magistrate as if it were a fine imposed by him: Provided that no proceedings for such recovery shall be taken or continued as long as he has, in regard to the payment of such tax, other amount or fee, as the case may be, complied with an order by any of the authorities to whom the dealer or person has appealed or applied for revision, under sections 51,52,54,57,58,59 or 60.

(3) On any amount remaining unpaid after the date specified for its payment as referred to in subsection (1) or in the order permitting payment in instalments, the dealer or person shall pay, in addition to the amount due, interest at 1 two per cent per month of such amount for the entire period of default:

Provided that if the amount remaining unpaid is less than one hundred rupees and the period of default is not more than a month, no interest shall be paid:

Provided further that where a dealer or person has preferred an appeal or revision against any order of assessment or revision of assessment under this Act, the interest payable under this subsection, in respect of the amount in dispute in the appeal or revision, shall be postponed till the disposal of the appeal or revision, as the case may be, and shall be calculated on the amount that becomes due in accordance with the final order passed on the appeal or revision as if such amount had been specified in the order of assessment or revision of assessment as the case may be.

(4) Where a dealer submits the prescribed return after the expiry of the prescribed period, he shall pay, in addition to the amount of tax due as per his return, interest at 1 two per cent of the tax payable for every month or part thereof.

(5) Where the tax paid under this Act is found to be in excess on assessment or revision of assessment, or as a result of an order passed in appeal, revision or review, the excess amount shall be refunded to the dealer after adjustment of arrears of tax, if any, due from him. Where the excess amount is not refunded to the dealer within a period of ninety days from the date of the order of assessment or revision of assessment and in the case of order passed in appeal, revision or review within a period of ninety days from the date of order giving effect to such order passed in appeal, revision or review, the Government shall pay by way of interest, where the amount refundable is not less than one hundred rupees, a sum equal to a sum calculated at the rate of half per cent or part thereof of such amount for each month or part thereof after the expiry of the said period of ninety days.,

Explanation. —For the purpose of this section, the expression “order passed in appeal, revision or review” shall not include order passed in such appeal, revision or review with direction to make fresh assessment order.