UNITED STATES LINES AGENCY Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two original petitions concern the question of levy of tax under S.3 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1976, for short the M.V.T. Act. The facts of the two cases are almost identical and so these two cases can be disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) We shall now advert to the facts necessary for the disposal of these cases. The petitioners in both these original petitions are doing the business of loading & unloading the containers/vessels reaching the wharf area in Cochin Port. The petitioner in O.P. No 2365 of 1987 ia acting as the agents of Sealand Services incorporated in the United States of America. For facilitating loading and unloading the containers/vessels, the petitioner is using chassis (trailer), according to the petitioner, specially designed and adapted for leading and unloading the containers/vessels reaching the Cochin Port. The principal of the petitioner in O.P. No. 2365 of 1987 has imported from Roterdam 105 chassis (trailers) for the above said purpose. The petitioner in O.P No. 9652 of 1987 got permission from the Central Government and Port authorities to import 55 chassis (trailers) from their principal, United States Lines, which is a shipping company using containers for cargo movement. The said 55 chassis also, according to the petitioner in O.P. No. 9352 of 1987, are specially designed and adopted for the use of leading and unloading the containers/vessels reaching the Cochin Port. Further, the case of the petitioner is that these equipments were permitted to be imported to India with an added condition that the same will be re-exported when the Port Trust provides sufficient number of trailers. These trailers in question are, according to the petitioners, used only in the wharf area.

(3.) The petitioners submit that the wharf area is a private premises. The operation of the trailers, which are specially designed for loading and unloading the containers/vessels, is confined to wharf area only and that it can be used only for the said purpose. They say that the wharf area is a customs bonded fully enclosed area.