DIRECTOR CENTRE FOR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ACTION MANGALORE Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER AND THE TAXATIONAUTHORITY DAKSHINA KANNADA MANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) petitioners are owners of omni buses. As such they are liable to pay tax under Section 3 of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957 ('the act' for short) read with item No. 8 of part 'a' of the schedule to the act. By Karnataka Act 14 of 1989, the measure for determination of tax liability in cases of omni buses was changed from seating capacity to the floor area. Constitutional validity of the said amendment was upheld by a division bench of this court in the case of Sree Gajanan Motor Transport Company Limited v State of Karnataka and others . The said judgment was subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court in civil appeal No. 4728 to 4775 of 1990 disposed of on 22-11-1991. Accordingly, the authorities under the act measured the floor area of the vehicles in question and raised the impugned demands.

(2.) petitioners have challenged the said determination and assessment of tax by asserting that the tax can be levied with reference to only such portion of the floor area of the vehicle which can be said to be available for erecting seats. According to them, this can be only within the wheelbase as specified by the manufacturers.

(3.) on the other hand, Mr. H.g. ramesh, learned additional government Advocate has submitted that the floor area in its common parlance could only mean the overall length multiplied by overall width of the vehicle and that can be the only basis for ascertainment of tax liability under the relevant item of the schedule to the act. According to him, it is wholly immaterial whether the floor available within the body of the vehicle can be used for sitting purposes of passengers or for installing the machines or the seat of the driver or has been depressed or raised for any other purposes. He also invites my attention to the definition of the floor area inserted as explanation (6) to the schedule by Karnataka Act 10 of 1991 with effect from 1-4-1991 to impress his said point of view.