COCHIN SHIPYARD LTD Vs. SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is a Government company engaged in the business of ship building and ship repairing. For the purpose of its business, it obtains supply of electricity from the Kerala State Electricity Board. Part of the supply is used by the petitioner for its own purposes, and part of the supply is sold by it, to its officers, contractors and others, for consumption. The petitioner is accordingly a "sanctionee" as under S.28 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910.

(2.) The Kerala Electricity Duty Act, 23 of 1963 (the Act) provides for the levy of electricity duty on licensees and consumers. A licensee is defined in S.2(d) of the Act as meaning, inter alia, the Kerala State Electricity Board (the Board, for short) as also any person licensed under Part II of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 to supply energy, including any person who is deemed to have been so licensed, and any other person who has obtained the sanction of the Government under S.28 of the said Act. It is not in dispute that the petitioner is a licensee as defined in S.2(d) of the Act, being a sanctionee under S.28 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910.

(3.) S.3 of the Act provides for levy of electricity duty on sales of energy by licensees (other than sales by the Board to another licensee). S.4 provides for levy of duty on certain consumers described in the schedule. I shall extract these provisions for reference: