DULI CHAND NARINDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed praying for the issue of a writ of certiorari quashing the assessment order on the petitioner-firm under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, hereinafter called "the Act", for the assessment year 1984-85 in so far as it related to levy of tax on the turnover relating to supply of rice to the District Food and Supplies Controller, Karnal, which supplies were made in compliance with the procurement orders issued under the Haryana Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 1979, and Haryana Rice Procurement (Price Control) Order, 1968 [wrongly mentioned in the petition as Haryana Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 1985], and for a direction to the State of Haryana and the District Food and Supplies Controller, Karnal (respondents 1 and 2) to pay the sales tax payable in respect of the supply of rice under the orders issued under the Levy Order and for a declaration that until the State Government pays the sales tax on the transactions of supply made in pursuance of the Levy Order, the assessing officers are not competent to recover the tax on these levy transactions.

(2.) THE petitioner is a registered dealer within the meaning of the Act and is also a licensed miller under the provisions of the Punjab Rice Millers Licensing Order. Under the provisions of the Haryana Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 1979, which was in force during the assessment year 1984-85, the petitioner was required to deliver to the purchase officer appointed by the Haryana Government at the procurement price certain percentage of rice produced and manufactured by it in its rice mill. The Levy Order further provided that the petitioner will be paid the price of rice as provided in the Schedule. Under the Procurement Orders, the State Government procures the levy rice and the same is passed on to the Food Corporation of India in the Central pool for public distribution system. The procurement price under this Order means maximum price fixed for that variety and grade by an order made under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Order that was in force relating to procurement price during the assessment year 1984-85 was the Haryana Rice Procurement (Price Control) Order, 1968, and the Schedule to that Order fixed the price at which the rice could be procured from the dealer by the State Government. Sub-clause (2) of clause 3 of that Order further stated :

(3.) THEREFORE , for the purpose of finding out the liability to tax for the assessment year 1984-85, we have to look to the provisions of the Haryana Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 1979, and the Haryana Rice Procurment (Price Control) Order, 1968, which as already stated, refer to the price specified in the Schedule as inclusive of cost of gunny bag, market fee and all taxes. There could, therefore, be no doubt that if any sales tax is payable in respect of the supply of rice under the Levy Order, 1979, that is the liability of the dealer and could not be separately required to be paid by the purchaser.