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TMI Blog1987 (11) TMI 383X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a (Writ Petition No. 8302 of 1980 and connected cases decided on 26.6.1985). The appellant has filed this appeal by special leave against the decision of the High Court dismissing his writ petition The facts of the case are briefly these. The appellant is the registered owner of the motor vehicle which he has been running as a stage carriage under a permit issued by the Regional Transport Authority under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. He is liable to pay tax in respect of the said motor vehicle under section 3 of the Act which provides that a tax at the rates specified in Part A of the Schedule to the Act shall be levied on all motor vehicles suitable for use or roads. Item 4 in Part A of the Schedule to the Act, as it stood in the year 1985, which related to the levy of tax on motor vehicles which were used as stage carriages reads thus:- Class of vehicles Quarterly tax for vehicle fitted withpneumatic tyres (1) (2) 4. Motor Vehicles other than those mentioned in items 5, 6 and 7 plying for hire and used for transport of passengers and in respect of which permits have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... : 50.00 (b) permitted to carry 11 persons or.00 more (excluding the driver), for every person which the vehicle is permitted to carry. 100 The appellant was liable to pay at the time when he filed the writ petition ₹ 160.00 per quarter for every seated passenger (other than the driver and the conductor) which the vehicle was permitted to carry and ₹ 45 per quarter for every passengers (other than the seated passengers, the driver and the conductor) which the vehicle WAS permitted to carry. Section 8 of the Act which provides for payment of additional tax in respect of motor vehicles reads thus:- 8. Payment of additional tax-When any motor vehicle in respect of which a tax has been paid is altered or proposed to be used in a such a manner as to cause vehicle to become a vehicle in respect of which a higher rate of tax is payable, the registered owner or person who is in possession or control of such vehicle shall pay an additional tax or a sum which is equal to the difference between the tax already paid and the tax which is payable in respect of such vehicle for the period for which the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h he was allowed to carry under the permit he had become liable to pay additional tax for the 'proposed user' of the motor vehicle in a manner different from the manner in which he was permitted to run it. In support of its decision the High Court relied strongly on the decision in Payne v. Allcock, 119321 2 K B. 413 in which the conviction of the owner of a motor vehicle in respect of which he had obtained a licence to use it as a private motor car for having used it for the conveyance of goods had been upheld. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 is a central act, which was enacted pursuant to Entry 20 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935 corresponding to Entry 35 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The Act under which a tax is leviable on motor vehicles has been enacted by the Karnataka State Legislature in exercise of its powers under Entry 57 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Thus the scope of the Act and the scope of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 are entirely different Section 42 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 provides that no owner of a transport vehicle shall use or permit th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hich the vehicle was permitted to carry. According to the above provision if the owner of a motor vehicle, which is used as a stage carriage, who is permitted to carry, say, 45 person including the driver and the conductor of whom 40 are seated passengers and 3 are standing passengers, he has to pay ₹ 6,535 for every quarter. The question is whether he is liable to pay and additional tax under section 8 of the Act if he carries on any occasion any passengers in excess of the number of passengers he is permitted to carry Let us assume that the registered owner of the motor vehicle in the above case has carried on one occasion in a given quarter 47 passengers (inclusive of the driver and the conductor) and on another occasion in the same quarter 50 passengers (inclusive of the driver and the conductor). In this illustration the question which arises for consideration is whether the registered owner is liable to pay ₹ 6,535 for that quarter or ₹ 6,535 plus the additional tax in respect of two more passengers or ₹ 6,535 plus the additional tax for five more passengers during that quarter. Section 8 of the Act PROVIDES that when any motor vehicle in respect of wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m 4. Sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of item 4 of the Schedule to the Act provides that for every seated passengers (other than the driver and the conductor) which the vehicle is permitted to carry the registered owner is liable to pay ₹ 160 and for every passenger (other than the seated passenger, the driver and the conductor) which the vehicle is permitted to carry has to pay ₹ 45 per passenger per quarter. In both the sub- clauses the liability of the registered owner is governed by the number of passengers that he is permitted to carry under the permit issued in his favour under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 and thus his liability is limited by the condition incorporated in the permit. It would have been possible to levy higher tax on the appellant p only if the words 'which the vehicle is permitted to carry' in item 4(2) of Part A to the Schedule to the Act had been omitted The Court cannot ignore those words while construing the said item since it relates to the levy of a tax. Moreover the provision in section 8 is specific. It says that the additional tax shall be equal to the difference between the tax already paid and the tax which is payable in respe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fairly long period which brought the vehicle under the 5th para of that schedule which levied a higher rate of tax. In the case before us, as we have already pointed out the vehicle could not be subjected to a higher rate of tax under any other item in Part A to the Schedule to the Act The argument urged on behalf of the State Government that the liability of the registered owner to pay tax in respect of a stage carriage depends upon the number of passengers carried in a vehicle on a given date does not appeal to us because in that event the words which the vehicle is permitted to carry in item 4(2) become meaningless and ineffective. The High Court in Noorullha Khan's case (supra) overlooked the presence of the words 'which the vehicle is permitted to carry' which are found in clause (b) of item 7 of the Act also. It is no doubt true that it is not in the public interest that a registered owner of a motor vehicle should be allowed to carry more passengers than the maximum number of passengers that he is allowed to carry under his permit and such a tendency on the part of any registered owner should be checked That fact, however, cannot be relied upon for the purpose o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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