INDIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will govern the above writ petitions, which are filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Out of the above writ petitions, while W.P. No. 8539 of 2000 is filed by the Indian Institute of Architects Association, Tamil Nadu Chapter on behalf of the Architects in general, who are registered under it as the practicing Architects, rest of the writ petitions pertain to the Chartered Accountants and have been filed by the various representative bodies of which the practising Chartered Accountants are the members since the question involved in identical in all these petitions and they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) SHORTLY stated, the Architects and Chartered Accountants are challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions of Finance Act by which the services offered by the Architects and Chartered Accountants have been brought under the tax-net, which is to be charged at five per cent of the value of the taxable service provided to any person by the Architects or the Chartered Accountants. Section 116 of the Finance Act No. 2 of 1998 is in challenge, as amended by Act 32 of 1994, and has first defined the said services and included them in the tax-net. The relevant portions of the Finance Act are as under:

(3.) THE main argument for the petitioners were addressed by Mr. Arvind P. Datar, learned senior counsel and Mr. Mohan Parasaran, learned counsel and their arguments were adopted by the other learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners. THE contentions of the learned counsel are as under: