GORELAL DUBEY Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX JABALPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question with which the High Court was concerned reads thus:

(2.) This Court in Quarry Owners' Assn. v. State of Bihar has considered afresh the submission that royalty was not a tax. It has, however, followed the decisions in India Cement Ltd. and Mahalaxmi Fabric Mills Ltd. and explained that tax on royalty is distinct from other forms of taxes; it does not constitute usual tax as commonly understood. Learned counsel for the assessee relied upon this latest judgment to contend that royalty was not a tax within the meaning of Section 43-B of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

(3.) It is not possible to accept the submission. The Constitution Bench judgment in India Cement Ltd. lays down the law, namely, royalty is tax, and it is a tax for all purposes including Section 43-B.