GHANDRANA AND COMPANY Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals, by Special leave, are from the judgment dated November 16, 1966 of the Mysore High Court in S.T.R.P. No.52 of 1965 and Writ Petition No. 2349 of 1965.

(2.) The appellant was a dealer, among other things, in textiles, with its head office at Mercara and a branch at Bangalore. It was assessed to sales tax on April 29, 1965 under the Mysore General Sales Tax, 1957, on its turnover for the period from October 1, 1957 to March 31, 1958. The question in dispute was whether the turnover of Rs.3,87,200 estimated to be the value of the stock of mill cloth held by the Appellant on December 14, 1957 was exigible to tax. The contention of the Appellant before the assessing authority was that the turnover related to mill cloth on which the additional excise duty was not payable and therefore not paid and so the turnover was exempt from sales tax. The contention was rejected. The Appellant appealed to the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. The appeal was dismissed. Its further appeal to the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal also proved unsuccessful.

(3.) The Appellant took the matter in revision to the Mysore High Court and it also filed a writ petition. Its contention in the writ petition was that sub-section (5A) introduced in Section 5 of the Mysore General Sales Tax Act, 1957 by Act No.9 of 1964 under which the levy was made was ultra vires the powers of Mysore Legislature and therefore void.