DODSAL LIMITED Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for quashing order dated 8-8-1990 (Annexure P-6) and the other orders by which the petitioner has been directed to pay electricity duty under the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Duty Act, 1949 (hereinafter to be referred to as 'the Act' ).

(2.) IT is not in dispute that petitioner Dodsal Limited having its head office at Bombay was given a contract for construction of a pipe line for supply of natural gas from Hazira in Gujarat to Jagdish Nagar (U. P.) via Bijapur in M. P. The construction of pipe line was done from August, 1986 to March, 1988. Petitioner/company was generating its own electricity through generators for consumption in its contract work and also in the residential quarters which were built for the workers engaged in this work. The respondent No. 2 issued notice to the petitioner/company on 25-5-1990 for payment of electricity duty to the tune of Rs. 20,51,000/ -. Section 3 of the Act is the charging section which, inter alia, provides that every producer shall pay the electricity duty as per table given under the section. Section 3-B confers powers on the State Government to exempt any producer of the electrical energy consumed by such producer for the purpose of its industry if it is considered necessary or expedient in public interest by issuing a notification in that behalf. In exercise of this power the State Government issued the Notification No. F. 10-7-XIII-81, dated 13-3-1981 which is as under :-- "whereas the State government is of the opinion that having regard to the particular circumstances of the industries establishing their own generating station for purposes of consumption of electrical energy by such industries, it is necessary and expedient so to do in the public interest. Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3-B of the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Duty Act, 1949 (No. X of 1949), the State Government hereby exempts with effect from the 10th December, 1980 all producers who run industries from payment of duty, during the period as specified in column (1) of the Schedule below and to the extent as specified in the corresponding entries in column (2) thereof, in respect of the electrical energy consumed by such producers for the purpose of the industries run by them :-- SCHEDULE Period of generation of Electrical Energy Extent of exemption (1) (2) (a) First two years from the date of In whole commencement of generation of electrical energy.

(3.) THE petitioner's case is that the contract work which the petitioner/company was doing comes within the ambit of "industry" and it was producing electrical energy for consumption in its own industry and, therefore, it is entitled to claim exemption from payment of electricity duty for a period of two years on the basis of the notification mentioned above. It is also stated by the petitioner/company that it was using generators of less than 90 volts for operating welding machines and, therefore, it is not covered by the definition of 'producer' given in Section 2 (di) of the Act and it is not liable to pay electricity duty.