TIRATH RAM AHUJA LIMITED Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN Writ Petition No. 3782 of 1990 and three similar Writ Petitions Nos. 8414, 9510 and 13983 of 1990 a point of some important but of significance arises regarding the vires of section 25b of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (for short "the Act"), as inserted by the Haryana Act 1 of 1989, and the notification issued under the aforesaid section, copy of which is annexure R/2, fixing the responsibility of the contractee to deduct 2 per cent of the amount out of the account of the contract and the valuable consideration payable for the execution of a works contract involving transfer of property in goods at the time of credit to the account of or payment to the contractor of such valuable consideration in cash, by cheque, by adjustment or in any other manner whatsoever.

(2.) IN order to appreciate the point the brief facts which are beyond the pale of controversy are :

(3.) ON receipt of the notice (annexure P/1) the contractee informed the contractor, that is the petitioner, about deducted 2 per cent as suggested in the notice. This prompted the contractor to move this Court under article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, to challenge the vires of the provisions of section 25b of the Act and the notification (annexure R/2) dated March 24, 1989, which was made effective from April 1, 1989. In order to appreciate the point it will be useful to notice the provisions of section 25b and section 26 of the Act and the same are reproduced hereunder :