AMALNER MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Vs. WIPRO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India by the Municipal Council at Amalner challenging the common judgment dated 30. 1. 1991 of the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Amalner, in Municipal Council Appeal Nos. 1 to 14 of 1985 as well as the common judgment dated 24. 9. 1991 of the learned additional Sessions Judge, Amalner, in Criminal Misc. Application Nos. 20 to 31 of 1991 and 59 to 72 of 1991. The first batch of the criminal applications was filed by the Municipal Council, whereas, the second batch of the said applications was filed by the company namely : Wipro Limited registered under the Companies Act. The said company has a factory for manufacture of "vanaspati" which is packed in a tin container and sold in the market. These containers are made out of the tin plates which used to be imported and the company has a separate factory for the manufacture of these tin containers. It was popularly known as "fabrication plant" employing about 150 employees and a separate factory registered under the factories Act, 1948. The manufacturing of these tin containers from the tin plates is a process involving cutting, trimming, flanging, seaming, soldering, etc. Though a tin container was a new commodity so manufactured by way of fabrication from the tin plates, it was utilised as captive requirement and it was not sold in the open market. The company was, therefore, claiming octroi concession in view of entry no. 77 in Schedule read with Schedule II part 1-A (I) which reads as under :

(2.) ON 28. 4. 1980 the Municipal Council issued a public notice and informed that the raw commodities made out of the metals listed in Item no. 77 of Schedule I shall be levied octroi at the rate of 2% with effect from 16. 6. 1980. On 16. 4. 1981 or thereabout the Municipal Council issued notices to the company calling upon it to pay the octroi at the rate of 2% on the tin containers manufactured and utilised for packing of Vanaspati. But subsequently, the Council demanded octroi at the rate of 3. 5% and issued the bills accordingly for the period from 1970 to 1984.

(3.) THE company approached this Court in Writ petition No. 2056 of 1985 filed before the Principal Bench and subsequently re-registered as on its transfer to this Bench as Writ Petition No. 768 of 1992. At the same time, the bills numbering twenty came to be challenged by filing appeals under Section 170 of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act. These appeals were numbered as Appeal Nos. 15 to 36 of 1985 before the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class at Amalner.