VALLABH KNITS LTD Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of four Writ Petitions Nos. 17236, 17328, 17355 and 17457 of 2002 in which common questions of law and fact arise. Counsel for the parties are agreed that the decision in Civil Writ Petition No. 17236 of 2002 will govern the other cases as well. For the sake of convenience, the facts are being taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 17236 of 2002 in which arguments were addressed.

(2.) At the outset the learned Counsel for the petitioner stated that he is not challenging the vires of the Punjab Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2000 (for short, "the Act") though the vires are under challenge in some of the writ petitions which stand admitted.

(3.) The only contention of Shri K.L. Goyal, advocate for the petitioner, is that his client is bringing yarn in the State of Punjab and, therefore, no tax is leviable in terms of the Schedule to the Act. The argument is that yarn is not one of the items specified in the Schedule and, therefore, no tax is payable when yarn is brought inside the State of Punjab. We are unable to accept this contention of the learned Counsel. By Punjab Ordinance No. 4 of 2002 the State Government has amended Section 3 of the Act and also introduced Section 3A which reads as under :