RATTAN LAL AND CO Vs. ASSESSING AUTHORITY PATIALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are 17 petitions challenging the validity of the Punjab General Sales Tax (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1967 (Act No. 7 of 1967) by the Punjab Legislature and the Punjab Sales Tax (Haryana Amendment and Validation) Act, 1967. Thirteen of these petitions challenge the Punjab Amendment Act and four challenge the Haryana Amendment Act.

(2.) The petitioners are firms or companies dealing in cotton or oil seeds. Their business is to purchase ginned and unginned cotton for manufacturing yarn and selling the said cotton also to registered and unregistered dealers both inside and outside the State. The petitioners of the second category purchase oil-seeds for use in manufacture of edible oils. The surplus oil-seeds are sold to other dealers, registered or unregistered, inside and outside the State of Punjab. Both these commodities are essential commodities to which the Central Sales Tax Act applies. Certain provisions of these Amending Acts are challenged on the ground that they offend section 15 of the Central Act and are also unconstitutional being in violation of Articles 14 and 19.

(3.) The Punjab General Sales Tax Act was passed in 1948. It was amended from time to time. The Act as it stood on April 1, 1960, was challenged in Bhawani Cotton Mills Ltd. vs. State of Punjab, (1967) 3 SCR 577 . On April 10, 1967 this Court by majority struck down certain portions of the Act on the ground that they were in conflict with the provisions of S. 15 of the Central Act. On November 1, 1966 the former State of Punjab bifurcated and the States of Punjab and Haryana came into existence. On December 29, 1967, the Punjab Legislature enacted Act 7 of 1967 amending the original Act, and the following day the President's Act intituled the Punjab General Sales Tax (Haryana Amendment and Validation) Act, 1967 (Act No. 14 of 1967)was passed for Haryana. Both the Acts were preceded by Ordinances which they replaced. It is not necessary to refer to the Ordinances.