MUBARIKPUR STONE CRUSHERS UNION Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vide this order two writ petitions are being disposed of as the facts and question of law are common. Facts are taken from the file of C.W.P. No. 3443 of 1992.

(2.) The Petitioner is a Union of Slone Crushers known as the Mubarikpur Stone Crushers Union. In the other writ petition the Petitioners are 11 in number. All these Petitioners are doing the business of stone crushing. The members of the Union buy stone, gatka and bajri from the quarries falling in the State of Punjab from the quarry-contractors. The Petitioners are registered under the Haryana General Sales-tax Act with the Excise and Taxation Officers. Such material is brought to the crushers in the trucks owned or hired by such firms. The quarry-contractor charges Rs. 66 per truck as the price of 200 cubic feet and 10 percent Central Sales-tax thereon, i.e. the amount of Rs. 66 includes Central Sales-tax. One of the bills has been produced as Annexure P. 1. At the Ghaggar river-bed labour is engaged to load the trucks, and loading charges of Rs. 35 to Rs. 40 per truck of 200 cft. are paid. When the trucks reach Haryana Border, they are stopped and they are made to pay Rs. 20 per truck by Respondent No. 2, the Officer Incharge Sales-tax Check Barrier, Ramgarh in spite of the fact that necessary bill of purchase of stone etc., at the rate of Rs. 66 per truck along with sales-tax Form-38 are shown. A recent for Rs. 20 is issued in Form ST-29 purporting to charge the amount as penalty under Section 51 of the Haryana General Sales-tax Act (hereinafter to be referred to as 'the Act'). One of such receipts has been produced as Annexure P. 2. In this manner members of the Union are made to part with approximately Rs. 3.000 in one day. Several enquiries were made from Respondent No. 2, regarding charging of Rs. 20 per truck but no satisfactory reply was furnished. Earlier Rs. 10 per truck per trip used to be charged which action was challenged by M/s Bharat Stone Crusher, Zirakpur, before the Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Appeals). Vide order dated November 12. 1987 (Annexure P. 3) the charging of Rs. 10 per truck per trip was quashed. In these writ petitions challenge is to the imposition of such penalty at the rate of Rs. 20 per truck per trip by Respondent No. 2 without following the provisions of the Act.

(3.) On notice of motion having been issued, reply has been filed by Respondent No. 2. The preliminary objection has been raised during arguments that alternative remedy of filing an appeal is available to the Petitioners and this Court should not interfere in the exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. On merits it was stated that the excavation of stone etc. by the mining contractor was under the provisions of Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964 and such rights were auctioned. Copy of one of the auction-tenders was produced as Annexure R. 1. It was denied that the Petitioners were stone-crushers or they ever challenged the charging of Rs. 20 per truck which levy was stated to be valid. The enquiry made by Respondent No. 2 revealed that labour charges from Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 were not included in the bills and the bills produced like Annexure P. 2 were not genuine. The penalty was paid voluntarily. No detailed speaking orders were passed. It was admitted that in M/s. Bharat Stone Crusher, Zirakpur, case order was passed which was described as order in personem and not in rem.