9911796707
TMI Blog1978 (12) TMI 191X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rred to as the State Act, which came into force on July 1, 1959. The State Government issued a notification on November 28, 1959, which appeared in the State Gazette dated December 4, 1959, under Section 23 of the State Act imposing a cess of 12 paise per maund on the entry of sugarcane during a crushing season in the area comprised within such of the factories in which the total quantity of cane entering for consumption, use or sale to the factory during such season exceeded 10 lakh maunds . The appellants challenged the validity of the imposition, and the High Court, on August 31, 1961, held that the notification was illegal as the imposition of the levy was with reference to particular premises. A similar view was taken in regard to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s but reduced it to ₹ 5,44,835.69, by its impugned judgment dated May 25, 1968, and that is why the Company has come up in appeal to this Court. 4. It has been argued by Mr. Desai on behalf of the appellant that Section 23 of the State Act was not ultra-vires the Constitution and there could be no question of validating a valid Act. According to him, the State Act fell within the scope of Entry 52 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and was valid, and Parliament could not legislate in respect of that occupied field and pass the Validation Act. These arguments have been based on the main contention that the expression an area in Sub-section (1) of Section 23 of the State Act really means a local area within th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d not fall within Entry 52 of the State List and there was no other Entry in the State List or the Concurrent List in which the Act could fall. It is therefore futile for the appellant to contend that Section 23 of the State Act was not ultra-vires the Constitution or that it can be upheld on such a construction of the words an area in Section 23 as to restrict it to mean a local area . 6. The decision in Diamond Sugar Mills case came up for consideration in this Court in Jaora Sugar Mills (P) Ltd. v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors. [1966]1SCR523 with a specific reference to the provisions of the State Act, and it was once again held, following that decision, that the imposition of the cess was outside the legislative competence of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the State Acts and of all notifications, orders and rules issued or made thereunder, in so far as such provisions relate to the imposition, assessment, collection of such cess had been included in and formed part of this section and this section had been in force at all material times when such cess was imposed, assessed or collected; and accordingly- (a) no suit or other proceedings shall be maintained or continued in any Court for the refund of any cess paid under any State Act; (b) no Court shall enforce a decree or order directing the refund of any cess paid under any State Act; and (c) any cess imposed or assessed under any State Act before the commencement of this Act but not collected before such commencement may be recovere ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (2) of that section provides that the State Government shall make rules specifying the authority empowered 'to assess and collect the cess and the manner in which it shall be collected. The Madhya Pradesh Government accordingly made the Madhya Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Rules, 1959, hereinafter referred to as the Rules which were also validated by Section 3 of the Validation Act. Rules 60 of the Rules provides that the collector shall be the authority empowered to assess and collect the cess. Rule 61 makes it obligatory for the occupier of a factory to maintain a correct account, day to day, in the prescribed form, of the cane entering the area specified in the notification under Section 23. Rule 62 provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the cess has been credited to the treasury. If he finds that this is not so, it is his duty to call upon the occupier, by a written notice, to deposit the amount due from him within the period specified in the notice. 11. The State Act and the Rules do not therefore require that the Collector shall make a formal order of assessment, and then collect the cess. 12. It has to be appreciated that the purpose of an assessment is to compute the amount of the cess payable by the person concerned. Assess is a comprehensive word, and in a taxing statute it often means the computation of the income of the assessee, the determination of the tax payable by him, and the procedure for collecting or recovering the tax. In a case where there is a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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