BHORUKA TEXTILES Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bhoruka Textiles, a unit of Transport Corporation of India Ltd., a public limited company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, the petitioner before this Court has established a textile factory on Sy. No. 125 of Sattur village, situated within the territorial area of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (The Corporation). The Corporation originally constituted under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 (Bombay Act) is now governed by the uniform Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 (Karnataka Act 14/1977) (Corporation Act) from 1-6-1977 from which day, the Bombay Act stood repealed in the Bombay area of new State of Karnataka.

(2.) Under the Bombay Act that was then in force, the Corporation, with the previous sanction of Government, making appropriate amendments to its bye laws and orders, the first one in No. LMA 158 MNY 67 dated 20-1-1968 (Annexure-B) and the second one in Order No. HMA 481 MNY 75 dated 9th June 1976 (Annexure-A), exempted the petitioner from payment of octroi on octroiable articles imported into its territorial area for a period of ten years from 10-6-1976. On the basis of these orders, the petitioner has not been paying octroi from 9-6-1976 on cotton imported to the territorial area of the Corporation.,

(3.) The Karnataka Taxation and Certain other Laws (Amendment) Act, 1979 (Karnataka Act 21 of 1979) (1979 Act), inter alia provided for abolition of octroi in the State of Karnataka with effect from 1-4-1979 (vide Sections 9 and 11 of the Act).