Summary
The Bombay Surgacane Cess Act,1948 empowers the State Government to specify any factory the area comprised in which shall be a local area for the purposes of the Act and to levy cess on the entry of sugarcane into a local area for consumption or use therein. A duty is cast on every occupier to furnish to the prescribed authority a return stating the total quantity in tons of sugarcane which enters the local area comprised in his factory for consumption or use therein during the preceding month.
In Diamond Sugar Mills Limited v. State of Uttar Pradesh & another [1961] 3 S.C.R. 242 this Court struck down the U.P. Sugarcane Cess Act, 1956 which contained provisions similar to those of the Bombay Act on the ground that the proper meaning to be attached to the words local area under Entry 52 in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution was an area administered by a local body such as municipality, district board, or the like and that the premises of a factory were not a local area within the meaning of the said Entry. Since prior to this decision, several State Legislatures had passed similar enactments, all of which became unconstitutional by reason of that decision, Parliament passed the Sugarcane Cess (Validation) Act, 1961, section 3 sub-section (1), Clause (c) whereof provides that any cess imposed or assessed under any State Act before the commencement of the Central Act, but not collected before such enactment may be recovered (after assessment of the cess where necessary).The appellant's petitions impugning the levy and demand of cess imposed under the Bombay Act supplemented by the Central Act were dismissed by the Bombay High Court.In appeals to this Court it was contended (1) that the Central Act merely authorised the collection of amounts which had already been imposed, assessed or collected and that no assessment, recovery or collection could be made under section 3 of the Central Act read with the relevant provisions of the State Act after the enforcement of the Central Act, and (2) that Parliament could not pass a law retrospectively validating invalid assessments by converting their character from assessments under the State Acts to those under its on statute operating retrospectively.983 Dismissing the appeals,^HELD: 1(i) In two earlier decisions this Court has repelled an identical argument on the ground that what Section 3 of the Central Act provides is that by its order and force, the respective cesses would be deemed to have been recovered, because the provisions in relation to the recovery of this cess have been incorporate in that Act itself so that the command under which the cesses would be deemed to have been recovered would be the command of Parliament because all the relevant sections, notifications, order and rules had been adopted by the Parliamentary statute itself. It is, therefore, plain that Section 3 of the Central Act did not merely validate what the State authorities had already done under the Bombay Act but re- enacted the provision of the Bombay Act by virtue of the authority vested in Parliament under Entry 97 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution so that the Bombay Act became fully alive and operative as an enactment of Parliament as soon as the Central Act was promulgated and the authorities named in the Act were invested with full powers to assess and recover the cess not under the Bombay Act but under the Central Act into which the provisions of the Bombay Act and the rules framed as well as the notifications issued thereunder became incorporate. [988 D.989 B-C,990 B-C]Jaora Sugar Mills (P) Ltd. v. State of Madhya Pradesh[1966] 1 S.C.R. 523; Bhopal Sugar Industries v. State of Madhya Pradesh and others [1979] 2 S.C.R. 605; referred to.(ii) Clause (c) of Section 3 of the Central Act specifically authorises both assessment and recovery of any cess imposed under any State Act before the commencement of the Central Act. [998 A.C]2. In Jaora Sugar Mill's case, this Court held that if collections were made under statutory provisions which were invalid, Parliament could pass a law retrospectively validating the collections by converting their character from collections made under the State statutes to that of collections made under its own statute operating retrospectively, because to hold otherwise would be to cut down the width and amplitude of the legislative competence conferred on Parliament by Article 248 read with Entry 97 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. [990 F-H]3. It cannot be said that there is lack of authority in Parliament to pass the Central Act incorporating into it provisions of the State Act. Entry 97 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, provides full legislative competence to Parliament in relation to the Central Act inasmuch as it vests all residuary powers of legislation in Parliament. [991 B-C]4. There is no substance in the contention that the managing agents alone would be liable and that the cess could not be recovered from the owners of the factories. The definition of occupier has nothing to say about the person on whom the cess is to be imposed or from whom it is to be recovered. The relevant provisions indicate that the authorities assessing or recovering the tax should deal with the occupier and were enacted as a matter of convenience both for the authorities and the assessees, so that an absent owner may not be unduly harassed nor proceedings delayed by reason of his absence, and not for limiting to the occupier alone the liability to pay the cess. [991 F-992A]984See the full content of this document
Extract
Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., Sangli, Maharashtra VS. The Collector Of Sangli And Others
PETITIONER: SHETKARI SAHAKARI SAKHAR KARKHANA LTD., SANGLI, MAHARASHTRAS Vs.RESPONDENT: THE COLLECTOR OF SANGLI AND OTHERSDATE OF JUDGMENT22/10/1979BENCH: KOSHAL, A.D.BENCH: KOSHAL, A.D.CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ)KRISHNAIYER, V.R.UNTWALIA, N.L.SHINGAL, P.N.CITATION: 1979 AIR 1972 1980 SCR (1) 882 1980 SCC (1) 381ACT: Bombay Sugarcane Cess Act, 1948, Ss. 4, 7 and 8 & Sugarcane Cess (Validation )Act 1961, Ss. 2(a) and 3(1)(c)- State Act levying sugarcane cess found to be ultra-vires- Central Act enacted adopting provisions of State Act and validating assessment made thereunder-Central Act whether validates or re-enacts the state Act-Cess whether recoverable from owner of factory.JUDGMENT: CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 2470 of 1968.From the Judgment and Order dated 17-1-68 of the Bombay High Court in Special Civil Application No. 6/68.ANDCIVIL APPEAL NOS.39-40 OF 1969 From the Judgment and Order dated 17-1-68 of the Bombay High Court in S.C.A.Nos. 4 and 5 of 1968.AN...
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