S.S. MIRANDA, LTD Vs. STATE OF BOMBAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiffs sue the State of Bombay for a refund of a sum of Rs, 2,64,968 -15 -0 and interest on the same on the ground that they paid that amount under protest when additional duty was levied on foreign liquor by a notification issued on December 16, 1948.

(2.) THERE is no dispute about the facts having bearing on the case. The plaintiffs were holders of a Trade and Import License which continued till March 31, 1949. In view of the policy of prohibition which was being inaugurated by the defendant the Excise Officer in charge addressed a letter to the plaintiffs on April 2, 1948, asking the plaintiffs to keep their goods in bond in their own duty -paid godown after paying excise duty on the same. Prior to this the Government in accordance with the provisions contained in Section 15 of the Bombay Abkari Act, 1878, used to maintain established or licensed warehouses at various places in the State. In pursuance of that letter the plaintiffs paid a sum of Rs. 2,17,355 -14 -0 to the defendants. Transport permits were thereupon issued to the plaintiffs authorising the plaintiffs to transport their stock of foreign liquor from their private bonded warehouse at No. 3, Rose Cottage, Mazagaon, to the licensed premises of the plaintiffs in the same building. This was done, as learned Counsel for the plaintiffs stated, because the defendant wanted to introduce the policy of prohibition and discontinue the system of bonded warehouses where foreign liquor could lie without payment of duty. Learned counsel also stated that what was really done was that the bonded warehouse was converted into licensed premises for storing duty -paid foreign liquor. Some of the goods on which duty was paid were sold by the plaintiffs. On December 16, 1948, a notification was issued by the Government of Bombay in exercise of the powers vested in it under Section 19 of the Bombay Abkari Act, 1878, whereby Government inter alia doubled -the duty on foreign liquor which necessarily included the stock of foreign liquor owned by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs thereafter wanted to transport their stock of foreign liquor from their godown where they kept their stock but could not do so without paying additional duty as the notification referred to by me had already come into force. Therefore, in December 1948 and January 1949 they paid to the defendant under protest an aggregate sum of Rs. 2,64,968 -15 -0 as being the amount of the difference between the excise duty on the increased scale and the duty originally paid by the plaintiffs.

(3.) THE Bombay Abkari Act consolidates and lays down the law relating to the import, export, transport, manufacture, sale and possession of liquor and intoxicating drugs in the State of Bombay. In the present case I am only concerned with the provisions of that Act so far as they relate to transport of liquor and intoxicating drugs. The expression 'to transport' has been defined in Section 3, Sub -section (10), to mean 'to move from one place to another place within the Province.' Sections 10 and 19 of the Act are as follows : -