DINA NATH AND SONS Vs. SALES TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Clause (3) of Article 286 of the Constitution enacts that "any law of a State shall, in so far as it imposes, or authorises the imposition of, a tax on the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special importance in interstate trade or commerce, be subject to such restrictions and conditions in regard to the system of levy, rates and other incidents of the tax as Parliament may by law specify." Accordingly, selection 15(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (hereinafter called the Central Act) lays down the restrictions and conditions in regard to tax on sale or purchase of declared goods within a state in the following words :

(2.) This view of the provisions of the Delhi Act contended for in the writ petitions mentioned above was accepted by the Financial Commissioner in (1) Messrs. Gobind Saran Ganga Saran v. The State (Revisions Nos. 234 and 384 of 1972) decided on February 13, 1973. and (2) M/s. Raj Trading Company v. The State Revisions No. 319 to 322 of 1972) decided on February 13, 1973. The Commissioner of Sales Tax has, therefore filed Civil Writ 460 of 1973 (Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Financial Commissioner and M/s. Gobind Saran Ganga Saran) and Civil Writ 553 of 1973 (Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Financial Commissioner and M/s. Rai Trading Company) praying that the above mentioned orders of the Financial Commissioner for the assessment years 1968-69 in Civil Writ 460 of 1973 and 1966-67 and 1967-68 in Civil Writ 553 of 1973 be quashed inasmuch as the provisions of the Delhi Act arc in conformity with the restrictions and conditions imposed on the Delhi Act by section 15(a) of the Central Act and the Respondent No. 2 in each of the writ petitions was liable to the assessment of sales tax on the sale of the declared goods made by them, in Delhi. These four writ petitions were heard together.

(3.) The following grounds were advanced by Mr. Ashok Sen and Mr. R. C. Chawla for denying the liability of the asscssecs to be assessed to any sales tax on the sale of the declared goods in Delhi by the assessecs: