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TMI Blog1957 (3) TMI 61X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e amending Act of 1954, octroi could be levied on animals or goods, or both brought within the octroi limits for consumption or use only, and not on animals or goods brought into those limits for sale. Now, the petitioners have, within the limits of the Manmad Municipality, a depot which caters to the requirements, not only of the residents within the municipal limits, but also of the neighbouring markets. Petroleum products are brought to this depot and naturally they are brought within the octroi limits which are the limits of the Municipality; but these petroleum products are partly for consumption and use within the octroi limits and partly for sale for consumption and use outside those limits. The petitioners were being subjected to octroi duty in respect of the first category of goods and were not being subjected to any octroi duty in respect of the second category of goods until the Administrator of the Municipality, by his letter D/- 17th of March 1956, intimated to the Superintendent of the Burmah-Shell Company at Manmad that the petitioners were liable to pay octroi duty on petroleum products sold within the octroi limits and supplied to stations outside the octroi limits ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such resolution and in such rules specify, (iii) the class or classes of persons or of property, or of both, which the Municipality desire to make liable, and any exemptions which they desire to make; (iv) the amount for which, or the rate at which, it is desired to make such classes liable; (v) all other matters, which the State Government may so require to be specified. Then, Sub-clause (b) provides for publication of the proposed rules with a notice in the form prescribed in Schedule A. Sub-clause (c) provides that any inhabitant of the municipal district may send his objection in writing to the Municipality within the time prescribed. The Municipality thereupon has to consider the objection, and unless they uphold the objection, they have to submit the same with their opinion thereon together with the notice and draft rules to the State Government or, at the relevant time, to the Commissioner. Stopping here for a moment, the requirement of a resolution at a meeting of the Municipality is not only in respect of selecting a tax out of the many mentioned in Section 59, but also for the purpose of making rules prescribing the tax. Moreover, the Municipality ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ; first, the Municipality which must consider the entire scheme under Section 60 and must further consider any objections that may be received from an inhabitant of the Municipal district; secondly, the inhabitants of the municipal district who upon publication of the proposals, have a right to object to any aspect thereof; and, thirdly the sanctioning authority, who have to apply their minds to the proposals and to the objections, if any, which have not been upheld by the Municipality, and further to consider whether they wish to direct that the proceeds of the tax or any part thereof shall be utilised for a specified purpose or purposes. 5. Now, following this procedure, it appears that octroi rules and bye-laws were sanctioned for Manmad on 16th of April 1943 by the Commissioner. Rule 4 of these rules provides for the levying of a tax on all animals and goods on the import thereof . Of course octroi, in its accepted connotation, is a duty on goods brought into an area and this connotation is carried out by the rule by providing that octroi shall be payable on animals or goods which are imported within the municipal area. These rules continue to be in force and the rival cont ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the rules as sanctioned on the 16th of April 1943, in our opinion, the rules provided for an octroi tax only on animals or goods brought within the octroi limits for consumption or use, and certainly not for sale, although the case of sale may well be covered by the general word 'import' used in Rule 4. 6. But then Mr. Patwardhan urges that though the rules undoubtedly had this meaning before the Act was amended by providing for an octroi duty on animals or goods brought within the octroi limits for sale, they have a new meaning after the amendment of the Act. It appears to us to be difficult to conceive how the rules, which had a particular meaning when they were sanctioned by the sanctioning authority, can change their meaning subsequently. But what is more important is that if by some magic these rules have acquired a new meaning alter the amendment, can it possibly be suggested that any one of the three bodies that were concerned in the making of the rules at any time applied their minds to the so-called new meaning? Going back over the stages which were preliminary to the rules becoming effective, when the Municipality at a general meeting passed a resolution select ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lied its mind to a tax on imports for the purposes of sale; and moreover, if the sanctioning authority wished to direct that the tax or any portion thereof may be earmarked for a specified purpose, it would undoubtedly have regard to the estimated proceeds of such tax which the sanctioning authority making the estimate in 1943 could not have possibly taken to include a tax on imports for sale. It appears to us to be clear, therefore, that at no stage was a tax on imports for purposes of sale considered by any of the authorities who were required by law to consider it; and in the absence of such consideration, the tax cannot possibly be lawfully levied. 8. This view of ours derives great support from a provision in the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901, Section 47. That section deals with the power to suspend, reduce or abolish any existing tax; and Sub-section (2) thereof enacts:-- The provisions of Ch. VII relating to the imposition of taxes shall, so far as may be, apply to the. suspension, reduction or abolition of any tax and to the suspension, alteration or rescission of any rule prescribing a tax. Therefore, the Legislature in terms provides that any alteratio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... been elicited or on which in any event there was opportunity for the public to file objections on a prior occasion, could not be included without going through the entire procedure over again. In the case before us, the case is a much stronger one in favour of the petitioners, because the petitioners certainly have had no opportunity of objecting to the levy of an octroi on goods brought into the octroi limits for the purpose of sale only. 9. In our opinion, therefore, the present octroi rules do not empower the Manmad Municipality to levy an octroi on animals or goods imported within the octroi limits for purposes of sale. 10. A point has been made in the petition that the petitioners and two other dealers in petroleum products are the only three parties singled out for the imposition of an octroi on goods imported for the purpose of sale and that this action is discriminatory and offends against Article 14 of the Constitution. In this regard, the Administrator of the Municipality, in his affidavit, has pointed out that this statement is not correct and that the Municipality has been levying octroi on imports of goods by every one for the purpose of sale. We must accept that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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