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TMI Blog1963 (11) TMI 68X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tified, the cess shall be paid by the seller. (3) Out of the cess levied under sub-section (1) on the commercial crop or crops bought and sold in any part of the notified area which constitutes a village as defined in section 2 of the Madras Village Panchayats Act, 1950, such proportion as may be prescribed shall be paid by the market committee to the panchayat concerned. (4) The cess levied under sub-section (1) shall be subject to the provisions of Article 286 of the Constitution." The expression "cess by way of sales tax" in sub-section (1), and the reference to Article 286-the Article intended to ensure that the sales tax imposed by the States do not interfere with imports and exports, and inter-State trade and commerce-in sub-section (4), we think, clearly indicate that the impost is a tax coming under entry 54 of the State List (List II) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution"Taxes on the sale or purchase of goods other than newspapers"and that it is part of the sales tax law of the State. 2.. The main changes effected by the Madras Commercial Crops Markets (Amendment) Act, 1955, were the substitution of the words "levy a cess by way of sales tax" for the origina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... two per cent. of the price is being levied on coconuts under that Act. 5.. The commodity with which we are concerned is coconuts and we entertain no doubt that it is an oil-seed coming under item (vi) of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The General Sales Tax Act, 1125, has been replaced by the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, from 1st April, 1963. Schedule II of that Act deals with the declared goods in respect of which only a single point tax is leviable under section 5. Item 2 in that Schedule reads as follows: "Oil-seeds as defined in section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (Central Act 74 of 1956) other than coconut and copra, groundnut and cardamom." And item 6 is "Coconut and copra". The use of the words "other than coconut and copra, groundnut and cardamom" in item 2 should clearly indicate that but for those words, coconut and copra, groundnut and cardamom are, according to the Legislature, included in the expression "oil-seeds". 6.. In the light of what is stated abave we must hold (1) that coconut is an oil-seed coming under item (vi) of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956; (2) that the levy under section 11 of the Madras Commercial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate of tax which is an essential part of the declaration and assessment has been completely delegated to the executive Government with no principles or basis laid down. Uncontrolled power is vested in the executive to fix such rate as it pleases. In the absence of a legislative provision regarding any policy or limits of assessment for the guidance of the assessing authority, it must be held that the provisions of the section amount to excessive delegation of legislative power, and, therefore, invalid." We are in agreement with this view. The decision of Ramachandra Iyer, J., was affirmed on appeal: State of Madras v. Shanmugha Oil Mills (1962) 75 L.W. 566. The Court said: "Some indication of a limit, or some principle with reference to which the executive should determine the rates, must be evident in a section of law delegating the power of taxation, before the delegation could be held constitutional. Otherwise, since, as we observed earlier, the sky would be the only conceivable limit, and the executive might act in the exercise of an altogether unchannelled power and still claim legality, this should be interpreted as amounting to a virtual abdication of its function by the L ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ax is to be levied is a matter of detail. It is, in my opinion, clear that in using the words 'the rates at which it is to be charged in respect of different classes of goods', the Supreme Court was laying emphasis on the words 'in respect of the different classes of goods'". "It is to be noticed further, that none of the authorities which have actually been referred to in the Supreme Court judgment relates to the question whether a law which authorises taxation without laying down any rate whatsoever and leaves the determination of the rate to another authority, is valid." "I am unable, therefore, to accept the contention urged on behalf of the appellant that the Supreme Court in the passage mentioned above did say or intended to say that the rate at which a tax is to be levied, is a mere matter of detail"; and "To my mind the most important question of policy which the Legislature has to determine in a taxing statute is the question of the rate of tax. To leave the determination of this matter to any other authority without indicating clearly principles on which (sic) principles for determination cannot be considered permissible delegation." 10.. In the Calcutta case it was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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