Court : Guwahati
B.K. Sharma, J.1. This Miscellaneous Application has been filed in a pending writ proceeding. The original writ petition being WP (C) No. 3556/1999 as it stood at the time of filing of the same was with the prayer for a declaration that the levy of luxury tax on tobacco items under the Assam Taxation (On Luxuries) Act, 1997 is ultra vires to the relevant constitutional provisions. In the even of holding that the respondent No. 1 i.e., the State of Assam is entitled to levy and collect the tax, to declare that the respondent is not entitled to levy and/or collect additional excise duty on the tobacco items so taxed. A further alternative prayer was also made in the event of holding that the respondent No. 1 is entitled to levy and collect the tax on tobacco products, to declare that the respondent is not entitled to proportionate shares of additional excise duty. An interim prayer was also made for staying the impugned notification dated 19.8.1997 fixing the rate of tax at 10% and also...
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R.B. Misra, J.1. In these petitions common prayer has been made declaring Rule 6A(2) of the Assam General Sales Tax Rules, 1993 in short, called 'the Rule 1993' to be ultra vires and illegal and for issuance of mandamus or directions to the State respondents not to levy, realise or collect tax on the value of containers, i.e., the exempted goods supplied free of cost to the customers and to stay the operation of '6A(2)' rules in the meantime.2. The petitioner No. 1 is an association of roller flour mills in Assam, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and is represented by its General Secretary representing thirty-two flour mills of the North East Region mainly engaged in the business of converting wheat into different wheat products and selling wheat products packed in gunny bags to the customers as the cheapest and convenient mode of transport and no price whatsoever is charged for the said containers, as in such supply the containers are supplied free of cost.3. The...
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Pathak, Actg. C.J. 1. This reference under Section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), at the instance of the assessee, had been referred to this court for decision on the following question; 'Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in holding that Section 18(4) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, was procedural in nature and so the previous approval of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Wealth-tax was not necessary for levying penalty under Section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, for the assessment years 1960-61 to 1964-65 after its amendment by the Wealth-tax (Amendment) Act, 1964 ?' 2. This reference relates to assessment years 1960-61 to 1964-65. The following chart shows the details relating to the various assessment years :Assessment yearThe due date for filing the returnThe date on which the return was filedDelay in complete monthsThe date on which the penalty was leviedThe amount of penalt...
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K.N. Saikia, J. 1. This civil revision under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure read with Article 227 of the Constitution of India, impugns the judgment dated 2-5-77 of the Revenue Tribunal, Manipur, dismissing the petitioner-Society's revision petition under Section 95 of the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'.2. The Deputy Commissioner, Central District, Manipur, by his order dated 17-4-76 allotted to the respondent-Society, namely, Sekmai Khunbi Joint Farming Co-operative Society Ltd., Registered No. 59 of 1969, 46.29 acres of land under C. S. Dag Nos. 259, 287, 359 and 371 of Village No. 116 within ThoubalSub-division. From that order, the petitioner Society, namely, Nongpok Sekmai Collective Farming Co-operative Society Ltd., Registered No. 11 of 1975-76, filed a revenue revision application under Section 95 of the Act, urging, inter alia, that the petitioner-Society reclaimed and improved the disputed land in 1967 and h...
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I.A. Ansari, J.1. Our constitutional scheme for governance is based on the rule of law. Absence of arbitrary power, as the Apex Court observed in S.G. Jaisinghani v. Union of India and Ors. : [1967]65ITR34(SC) , is the first essential of the rule of law. In a system governed by the rule of law, discretion, when conferred upon executive authorities, must be confined within clearly defined limits. 'Law has reached its finest moments,' observed Douglas, J, in United States v. Wunderlich, (1951) 342 US 98, 'when it as free man from the unlimited discretion of some ruler ... where discretion is absolute, man has always suffered.' If a decision is taken without any principle or without any rule, it is unpredictable and such a decision is the antithesis of a decision taken in accordance with the rule of law. [See S.G. Jaisinghani (supra).2. Article 16 of the Constitution of India guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of employment or appointment to any office under t...
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Ranjan Gogoi, J. 1. The writ petitioner is an Association registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 having its registered office at Silchar within the State of Assam. The petitioner Association claims to represent the non-Mizo/non-tribal traders of Assam having business in Mizoram, particularly, in the districts of Aizawl and Lunglei. Most of the members of the petitioner Association, it is claimed, are permanent residents of the three districts in the Barak Valley of the State of Assam i.e. Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi. In the present writ application, the petitioner Association seeks to challenge the constitutional validity of the Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation, 1873, hereinafter referred to as the Inner Line Regulation. The guidelines for the enforcement of the said Inner Line Regulation framed by the State of Mizoram in exercise of powers conferred by Section 2 of the aforesaid Regulation and published on 1.9.2006 has also been challenged in the present writ ap...
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B.K. Sharma, J.1. All the above three writ appeals are in respect of the common judgment and order dated August 9, 1996 Reported at [1997] 104 STC 453 (Gauhati) passed in Civil Rule Nos. 5 of 1996, 10 of 1996 and 11 of 1996 by and between the same parties. The present appellants filed the writ petitions and the same were dismissed by the said common judgment and order. The present writ appeals arising thereof and involving same set of facts and common question of law were heard analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.2. The writ petitioners/appellants M/s. Fatikcharra Tea Estate is a registered dealer under the Tripura Sales Tax Act, 1976. The tea garden became sick and the same along with some other tea gardens was taken over by the Government of Tripura under an ordinance dated November 10, 1986, viz, the Tripura Tea Companies (Taking Over of Management of Certain Tea Units) Ordinance, 1986. The management of properties of the tea garden was also take...
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I.A. Ansari, J. 1. As a functionary of the State Government, it is essential for a Government servant to be vigilant and ensure that no evasion of tax takes place, but while attempting to stop such evasion of tax, the Government servant must know what his powers under the law are and if he has such powers, its exercise must not be arbitrary; otherwise, a Writ Court is bound to interfere and correct the position.2. Viewed dispassionately, the case of the petitioner emerges to be as follows:The petitioner is an authorized dealer having service centre of Maruti Udyog Ltd., at Nahariagun, in the State of Arunachal Pradesh. As a dealer of the Maruti Udyog Ltd, the petitioner carries on the business of selling and servicing of motor vehicles of the said company. The petitioner sells motor vehicles of the said company in the State of Arunachal Pradesh as well as in the course of inter-State trade and commerce. The sale of motor vehicles within the State of Arunachal Pradesh are taxable at t...
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Amitava Roy, J.1. This batch of writ petitions raise a common question pertaining to the true purport of Section 10(26) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). Contending that the benefit of exemption thereunder being extendable to the petitioners, consequential reliefs by way of annulment of the impugned orders and the related assessment proceedings have been prayed for.2. By separate orders passed at the time of issuance of the rule, this court had granted interim protection staying the realisation of the tax assessed denying the exemption.3. I have heard Mr. S.P. Sharma, learned Counsel for the petitioners, Mr. U. Bhuyan, learned Counsel for the Department and Mr. V.K. Jindal, senior advocate for the North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the 'NEEPCO').4. A brief narration of the individual facts is advisable.5. The petitioner in W.P. (C) No. 200 (SH)/2001 is a registered association comprised of the members of the Sc...
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I.A. Ansari, J.1. In a federal set up like ours, conflicts between Parliamentary and State enactments are not really uncommon. How to resolve such conflicts is also, by and large, well settled ; but every time, such a conflict is brought before the Courts for resolution, the Courts undertake a massive exercise. This happens not because of any kind of inherent disinclination, on the part of the Courts, to readily resolve such a conflict, but to ensure that in order to resolve such a conflict, the Courts, while interpreting with an open, liberal and modern mindset, the provisions of the Constitution of India and the laws framed thereunder, remain steadfast to the basic structures of the Constitution and while interpreting the Constitution, howsoever liberally, maintain not only the letter but also spirit of the basic and fundamental concepts of the Constitution. The present Writ petition invites this Court to undertake such an arduous exercise. In order to ensure that the States are not...
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