Poultry farming is not a commercial activity.

The Karnataka High Court recently ruled that since poultry farming is an agricultural activity, it cannot be termed as “commercial” to levy any tax on gram panchayats under the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act. Be allowed.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj pointed out that a poultry farm is an agricultural activity and does not need to convert the land for any commercial purpose.

K Narasimhamurthy, Petitioner

The petitioner K. Narasimhamurthy, who owns four acres of land in Nagasundara village, had approached the Gram Panchayat to obtain NOC for getting electricity connection for the building which he constructed in a portion of the property. has gone where he planned to start poultry farming.

However, the gram panchayat authorities demanded Rs 1.3 lakh for issuing the NOC on the grounds that he would have to pay tax on the property as it would be called an industry.

As Narasimhamurthy was left with no other option, he paid Rs 59,551. But, later when he realized that the village panchayat had no authority, he decided to approach the High Court and claimed that poultry farming was an agricultural activity.

On the other hand, the Government contended that poultry farming is a commercial activity and under cause A(ii) of Schedule IV, it is taxable. But, after considering the provisions of the 1993 Act, Justice Suraj Govindaraj noted that there is no category of poultry farms in Schedule IV which allows panchayats to levy taxes.

First Published: 25 Sep 2023, 11:55 IST