GURDIAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two writ petitions (Civil Writs 1984 and 1985 of 1969) have been heard together as each of them calls for an answer to the common question" whether the first proviso to R. 9 of the Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation Rules, 1952 (as amended in its application to the State of Haryana) framed under Section 22 of the Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation Act, 1952 (as subsequently adapted by the State of Haryana in its application to that State) does or does not apply to the case of the petitioners so as to make them liable for payment of lump sum of Rs. 1,215/- per annum or any other lump sum on account of goods tax under Section 3 (3) read with the proviso to Section 4 of the 1952 Act. "

(2.) SHORN of unnecessary details the relevant facts of Gurdial Singh's case (Civil Writ 1984 of 1969) alone are being noticed by me as both sides agree that there is no material factual difference between these two cases. Since 1965, the petitioner held a regular public carrier permit (permit No. 1857 of 1965) valid up to December 31, 1969, for the Jullundur-Ambala and Patiala regions of the composite State of Punjab in respect of heavy transport vehicles No. HIM-9241. The Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation Act (16 of 1952) authorising the levy of tax on passengers carried and goods transported by road was in force in the State since 1952. Section 3 therein was the charging section. Sub-section (3) of that section provided for levy of tax on goods transported on inter-State routes. Section 4 provides for the method of collection of the tax. The following proviso was added to S. 4 by S. 2 of the Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation (Amendment) Act (21 of 1952) with retrospective effect from the inception of the principal Act: "provided that in case of public carriers the Government may accept a lump sum in lieu of the tax chargeable on freight in the manner prescribed. " The manner for determining the lump sum payable by truck operators was prescribed by Rule 9 of the 1952 Rules. Relevant part of that rule as originally framed was in the following terms:

(3.) WITH effect from November 1, 1966, the erstwhile composite State of Punjab was reorganised in pursuance of the provisions of Part II of the Punjab Reorganisation Act (31 of 1966) (hereinafter called the Reorganisation Act) so as to give birth to the present State of Punjab, the new State of Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh besides merging some territory of the old Punjab into the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh. It is the common case of both sides that by operation of S. 74 of the Reorganisation Act, which provision is quoted below, the transport permit of the petitioner automatically continued to be operative and valid throughout the territories of the successor States of Punjab and Haryana, Union Territory of Chandigarh, and the merged territories of Himachal Pradesh, without the requirement of any countersignature on the permit which had been issued by the original Punjab authorities from Simla under the Motor Vehicles Act (4 of 1939) (hereinafter called the Motor Vehicles Act):" temporary provisions as to continuance of certain existing road transport permits. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 63 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (4 of 1939), a permit granted by the State or a Regional Transport Authority in the existing State of Punjab shall, if such permit was immediately before the appointed day, valid and effective in any area therein, be deemed to continue to be valid and effective in that area after that day subject to the provisions of that Act as for the time being in force in that area and it shall not be necessary for any such permit to be countersigned by any State or Regional Transport Authority for the purpose of validating it for use in such area:provided that the Central Government may, after consultation with the State Government or Governments concerned, add to, amend or vary the conditions attached to the permit by the authority by which the permit was granted. (2) No tolls, entrance fees or other charges of a like nature shall be levied after the appointed day in respect of any transport vehicle for its operations in any of the successor States under any such permit, if such vehicle was immediately before that day exempt from the payment of any such toll, entrance fees or other charges for its operations within the existing State of Punjab: Provided that the Central Government may, after consultation with the State Government or Governments concerned, authorise the levy of any such toll, entrance fees or other charges, as the case may be. " The Reorganisation Act did not, however, make any express provision for the rateable distribution amongst the successor States of the goods tax payable by operators after November 1, 1966, in respect of the vehicles running under pre-organisation permits. According to the respondents this resulted in multiplying the liability of the operators fourfold overnight after November 1, 1966. The successor States, therefore, set upon the path of direct as well as delegated legislation to divert as much as of the tax as possible to their own coffers. The first proviso to Rule 9, as amended up to October, 1966, underwent further amendment at the hands of the Haryana State by the coming into force of Rule 2 of the Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation (Haryana 1st Amendment) Rules, 1969, notified in the Haryana Government Gazette, dated April 21, 1969, to the following effect: "in the Punjab Passengers and Goods Taxation Rules, 1952, in R. 9 in the first proviso, for Cls. (a) and (b) the following clauses shall be substituted namely: (a) Rs. 810/- per annum per vehicle other than one plying under countersignatures of the authorities in the adjoining State under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. (b) Rs. 1,215/- per annum per vehicle registered in the State of Haryana and plying under countersignatures of the authorities in any other State under Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. (bb) Rs. 600/- per annum per vehicle registered in the State of Punjab and plying under countersignatures of the authorities in the State of Haryana under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. (bbb) Rs. 1,215/- per annum per vehicle registered in the Union Territory or State other than the State of Punjab and plying under countersignatures of the authorities in the State of Haryana under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. "