(1.) The Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess Act, 2000 (for short 'the Goa Cess Act') enacted with an object to augment revenue for improvement of infrastructure and health, to promote welfare of the people residing in rural areas, being affected by the use of plastics, dumping of garbage and spillage of materials is the subject matter of challenge in this batch of petitions, by the petitioners, who are interalia engaged in transportation of iron and coal into the State of Goa from the other States.
(2.) The challenge of the petitioners is primarily mounted on the following counts : (i) that the Goa Cess Act imposes an unconstitutional cess; (ii) The levy as imposed is violative of Articles 301, 303, and 304 of the Constitution of India; (iii) the implementation of the Goa Cess Act violates the petitioner's rights under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, since the levy is on two classes of items, the 'Goan ore' on which royalty is paid and the 'non-Goan' ore on which royalty is not paid; and lastly (iv) that there is no power/competence to sustain the levy of cess since the State stands denuded of its power, under the Goa Cess Act, as such levy stands subsumed by the Goa Goods and Services Tax Act and the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017, (for short 'GST Act').
(3.) At the outset, it is required to be noted that a batch of petitions in the case of "Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Pvt. Ltd., Goa Vs. State of Goa", AIR Online 2018 Bom 1112. (of which the present proceedings were also a part) had assailed the Goa Cess Act. A Division Bench of this Court considered the challenge interalia to the constitutional validity of the Goa Cess Act and the Rules framed thereunder as also the Notification dtd. 8/10/2010, and the demand notices issued under the Goa Cess Act. The challenge as considered by the Division Bench was on two grounds; firstly, that the State not having the legislative competence to enact the Goa Cess Act; and secondly, on the issue as to whether the Goa Cess Act would have a retrospective application. Such challenge was repelled by the Division Bench, by its judgment dtd. 26/9/2018, thereby upholding the constitutional validity of the Goa Cess Act as also the Rules, as also the notifications issued by the State Government were upheld, however, keeping open the other grounds which were raised in the companion petitions, being the subject matter of adjudication in the present proceedings. In such context, the relevant observations as made by the Division Bench are required to be noted, which read thus:-
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