STATE OF ORISSA Vs. BHIMA PATRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE questions referred to this Court under Section 24 (1) of the Orissa Sales tax Act, 1947, by the Member Sales Tax Tribunal are as follows :

(2.) THE Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, was placed on the statute book on the 21st december 1956. But the commencement clause authorises the Central government, by notification, to appoint different dates for the operation oi the different provisions of that Act. It is conceded by Mr. Ghosh for the Sales Tax department that Section 14 of that Act along with most of the other provisions was brought into force on 1st July 1957. Under Clause (ii) (a) of that Section cotton fabrics were declared to be "goods ef special importance in inter State trade or commerce". But Section 15 of the Act -- which stated that under every sales tax law of a Slate the tax payable in respect of such declared goods shall not exceed 2 per cent of the sale price --was not brought into force on that date. It was brought into force only on the 1st October 1958. In the meantime, Parliament passed another Act known as the Additional Duties of excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act 1957 (Central Act No. 58 of 1957) for the purpose of levying additional duties in respect of goods declared to be of "special importance to inter State trade or commerce. " Section 7 of that Act is as follows :

(3.) IT was contended on behalf of the Sales Tax Department that though Section 7 of Act 58 of 1957 expressly stated that with effect from 1st April 1958 the restrictions and conditions specified in Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act 195s shall apply so far as the imposition of sales tax on declared goods was concerned, nevertheless, Parliament was under the impression that by the 1st april 1958 Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act would be brought into force, but as in fact it came into force only on the 1st October 1958 the provisions of Section 7 of Act 53 of 1957 would not be available in respect of reduction of sales, tax payable on cotton fabrics. When Parliament passed Act 58 of 1957 and brought it into force on the 24th December 1957 it was fully aware of the fact that the central Sales Tax Act was on the statute book and that most of its provi-sions including Section 14 had by then come into force. Sec-tion 15 of that Act had not yet been brought into force. If 1 with that knowledge the Parliament expressly stated, in Sec-tion 7 of Act 58 of 1957 that the restrictions imposed by Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act shall apply on 1-4-1958, the ordinary rule of construction would be that those restrictions would apply irrespective of whether section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act was actually brought into force on 1-41958 or not.