M G BROTHERS Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER KURNOOL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the owner of an omnibus bearing registration No.APQ- 9347 in respect of which he obtained a pacca contract carriage permit which entitled him to ply the vehicle as contract carriage anywhere in the district of Kurnool. For the quarter ending 30-9-88 the requisite amount of tax - Rs.13,000/- was paid by him. On 29-9-1988 when the vehicle was plying between Kurnool and Ad'oni, it was checked at a point between Emmiganur and Adoni by the Motor Vehicles Inspector (Flying squad), Kurnool. In regard to that check a V.C.R. - Vehicle check report, was made on the same day, it contains the following alleged irregularities: (1) The vehicle was carrying 13 individual passengers from whom individual fares at Rs.12/- per head were collected; (2) Driving licence was not produced; and (3) The vehicle was plying at a speed of 90 k.m. p.h.

(2.) A show cause notice was issued based on the above check report calling upon the petitioner to show cause why the vehicle should not be subjected to tax treating it as an express stage carriage. The allegations contained in the show cause notice are: (1) 13 passengers were travelling each individually paying a fare of Rs.12/-; and (2) the vehicle was plying, without permit, as an express stage carriage. In his explanation the petitioner denied both the allegations and stated that the vehicle was under a contract to one Mallik Travels who collected individual fares from the 13 passengers and all of them were travelling as one party from Kurnool to Adoni. He also specifically pleaded that the passengers were not picked up or set down at any point between Kurnool and Adoni. A further plea taken by him was that the individual fare collected from each of the passengers was at the rate of ordinary bus fare while the express bus fare per head was Rs.14-50. Rejecting the above explanation the Regional Transport Officer, Kurnool, by his demand notice dt.24-3-1989 in RC NO.15869-A3-88, imposed a tax of Rs.22,724/- treating the vehicle as express stage carriage for the quarter ending 30-9-88 and called upon the petitioner to pay an amount of Rs.9,724/-, being the difference of tax between contract carriage and express stage carriage, within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice. Challenging the legality of the above demand notice the present writ petition was filed.

(3.) Sri E.P.K.Sikhamani, the learned counsel for the petitioner, contends that the vehicle in question was not plied at the relevant time as a stage carriage, much less as an express stage carriage. It was under a contract to one Mallik Travels, Kurnool who was carrying a party of 13 passengers from Kurnool to Adoni direct, and the list of passengers and the contract between the petitioner and Mallik Travels was available at the relevant time when the vehicle was subjected to check without alleging that any of the conditions of the permit were violated, straightway the respondent has levied the tax treating the vehicle as express stage carriage and therefore the demand notice is liable to be set aside.