COMMISSIONER QUILON MUNICIPALITY Vs. HARRISIONS AND CROSFIELD LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only point which arises for decision before us in this group of five appeals from a common judgment delivered by the High Court of Kerala in six writ petitions, five of which were preferred by the respondents and one by M/s. Brooke Bond (India) Ltd., is whether S. 2 of the Kerala Profession Tax (Validation and Reassessment) Act, 1958 (Act No. XIV of 1958) is invalid on the ground that it violates the provisions of Art. 276 of the Constitution.

(2.) The relevant part of Art. 276 of the Constitution runs thus :

(3.) By the operation of S. 3 of the Indian Finance Act, 25 of 1950 the Travancore Income-tax Act stood repealed and the municipal authorities construed the reference to the Travancore Income-tax Act in sub-rule (1) of R. 18 as reference to the Indian Income-tax Act. They also construed the reference to the Travancore Income-tax Act in the proviso to sub-rule (2) in the same way. In Harrisons and Crosfield Ltd. v. Commr. of Quilon Municipality, ILR (1955) Trav-Co. 1003 : ((S) AIR 1956 Trav-Co. 174) the Travancore-Cochin High Court held that the proviso had only provided for the adoption of certain figures representing the total profits as disclosed by the Income-tax assessment for a particular year in which the emphasis was upon the assessable area which, after the coming into force of the Indian Income-tax Act in the State of Travancore became impossible of ascertainment and that, therefore, the entire proviso was rendered obsolete. Thereafter, the appropriate authority amended sub-rr. (1) and (2) of R. 18 by notification dated February 15, 1956 as follows :