{"id":3397,"date":"1967-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1967-08-30T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-kerala-vs-cochin-coal-co-ltd-cochin-on-31-august-1967"},"modified":"2018-12-19T13:47:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T08:17:07","slug":"state-of-kerala-vs-cochin-coal-co-ltd-cochin-on-31-august-1967","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-kerala-vs-cochin-coal-co-ltd-cochin-on-31-august-1967","title":{"rendered":"State Of Kerala vs Cochin Coal Co. Ltd., Cochin on 31 August, 1967"},"content":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n
State Of Kerala vs Cochin Coal Co. Ltd., Cochin on 31 August, 1967<\/div>\n
Equivalent citations: 1968 AIR 389, \t\t 1968 SCR (1) 415<\/div>\n
Author: G Mitter<\/div>\n
Bench: Wanchoo, K.N. (Cj), Bachawat, R.S., Ramaswami, V., Mitter, G.K., Hegde, K.S.<\/div>\n
           PETITIONER:\nSTATE OF KERALA\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nCOCHIN COAL CO. LTD., COCHIN\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT:\n31\/08\/1967\n\nBENCH:\nMITTER, G.K.\nBENCH:\nMITTER, G.K.\nWANCHOO, K.N. (CJ)\nBACHAWAT, R.S.\nRAMASWAMI, V.\nHEGDE, K.S.\n\nCITATION:\n 1968 AIR  389\t\t  1968 SCR  (1) 415\n\n\nACT:\nTravancore-Cochin  General Sales Tax Act (11  of  1949--M.E.\n1125), s. 26--Inter-State sales during 1955-56--Sales within\nTravdncore-Cochin State--If liable to Sale-tax--Constitution\nof  India, 1950, Art.286(2) before the Sixth  Amendment\t and\nSales  Tax Laws Validation Act (7 of 1956)--Effect of.\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\nBefore\tthe  Constitution came into force,  the\t Travancore-\nCochin\tGeneral\t Sales Tax Act, M.E. 1125, levied a  tax  on\nsale  of -goods and inter-State sales were not\texempt\tfrom\nsuch taxation.\tBy Act 12 of 1951, s. 26 was inserted in the\nAct  to\t bring\tthe  Act into line  with  Art.\t286  of\t the\nConstitution as it then stood, and imposed a ban on the levy\nof  tax\t on inter-State sales after March 31,  1951,  unless\nParliament   otherwise\tprovided  under\t Art.  286(2).\t  On\nSeptember  6, 1955, this Court held in The  Bengal  Immunity\nCo.  Ltd. case, [1955]2 S.C.R. 603, that  inter-State  sales\ncould  not  be taxed by a State, even if  they\twere  inside\nsales with respect to that State.  This led to the  passing,\nby  Parliament, of the Sales Tax Laws Validation Act,  1956,\nfor  the  purpose of validating the levy and  collection  of\ntaxes on inside sales between April 1, 1951 and September 6,\n1955.\tIn Sundararamier & Co. case [1958] S.C.R. 1422\tthis\nCourt  decided\tthat s. 22 of the Madras General  Sales\t Tax\nAct,  1939-which  was  in part materia with  s.\t 26  of\t the\nTravancore-Cochin  Act-operated to impose a tax, subject  to\nauthorisation  by Parliament as provided in Art. 286(2);  in\nother  words it was a piece of legislation imposing  tax  in\npraesenti  but with a condition annexed that it was to\tcome\ninto force in futuro as and when Parliament so provided; and\nthis  view was re-affirmed by this Court in the Cochin\tCoal\nCo.'s case [1961] 2 S.C.R. 219) with respect to s. 26 of the\nTravancore-Cochin Act. [418C; 422 B-F]\nThe  respondent-assessee  was  a  dealer,  not\tresident  in\nTravancore-Cochin  State.   It supplied\t coal  to  consumers\nwithin\tthe  State, the last of the  transactions  being  on\nSeptember 4, 1955.\nOn the question whether the inter-State sales during assess-\nment year 1955-56, were taxable under the provisions of\t the\nTravancore-Cochin Act, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal\t and\nthe High Court held in favour of the assessee.\nIn appeal by the State to this Court,\nHeld: The ban imposed by s. 26 of the Travancore-Cochin Act,\nhaving\tbeen  lifted by the Sales Tax Laws  Validation\tAct,\nsales-tax could be levied and collected by the State for the\nperiod covered by that Act.  The Amendment to the section by\nKerala\tAct 12 of 1957 did not fall to be considered in\t the\npresent\t  case\tinasmuch  as  the  Amending  Act  was\tonly\nprospective  and did not operate to invalidate any  levy  of\ntax imposed before.  The question as to whether the State of\nKerala\thad legislative competence to amend s. 26 by  Kerala\nAct  9\tof 1962 which purported to validate,  the  levy\t and\ncollection  of\ttaxes  before  September  6,  1955  is\talso\nirrelevant for the purpose of this appeal. [422G; 423A-D]\nS5 SCI-(a)13\n416\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 380 of 1966.
\nAppeal\tby special leave from the judgment and\torder  dated
\nAugust\t16,  1963 of the Kerala High Court in  Tax  Revision
\nCase No. 17 of 1962.\n<\/p>\n
S. V. Gupte, Solicitor-General and A. G. Pudissery, for\t the
\nappellant.\n<\/p>\n
O.  P.\tMalhotra, P. C. Bhartar and 0. C.  Mathur,  for\t the
\nrespondent.\n<\/p>\n
Sardar Bahadur, for the intervener.\n<\/p>\n
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
\nMitter, J. This appeal, by special leave, is from a judgment
\nand order of the High Court of Kerala dated August 16,\t1963
\npassed\tin  Tax Revision Case No. 17 of 1962  filed  by\t the
\nrespondent,  Cochin Coal Co. Ltd. against the order  of\t the
\nSales Tax Appellant Tribunal, Trivandrum.
\nThe  facts necessary for the disposal of this appeal are  as
\nfollows.  The respondent-assessee was a, non-resident dealer
\n(not resident in Travancore-Cochin) during the year 1955-56.
\nThe  period we are concerned with here ends on September  4,
\n1955.  it  used to supply coal to  consumers  in  Travancore
\nCochin State which later became Kerala.\t For the  assessment
\nyear  in question (1955-56) the assessee was asked  to\tfile
\nstatements showing its turnover of supplies of coal made  to
\npurchasers in the State of Kerala and in reply to the notice
\nunder s. 12(2)(b) of the Travancore Cochin General Sales Tax
\nAct,  it stated that the sales of coal to steamers  arriving
\nand  berthed  in  Travancore Cochin State  waters  were\t not
\ntaxable\t because the goods were stored by the  steamers\t for
\nconsumption on the high seas.  The assessee however did\t not
\nquestion  its  liability to pay tax in respect\tof  supplies
\nmade to other consumers in the State of Kerala.\t On March 7,
\n1959 the Sales Tax Officer, Circle 1, Mattancherry  assessed
\nthe  respondent\t on  a\tturnover  of  Rs.  1,29,352\/-.\t The
\nrespondent  filed  an  appeal therefrom\t and  the  Assistant
\nCommissioner  of  Agricultural\tIncome Tax  and\t Sales\tTax,
\nErnakulam  allowed  the\t appeal\t in  part  and\treduced\t the
\nturnover by omitting the portion of it after 6th  September,
\n1955.  In the result, the assessee’s turnover was reduced to
\nRs.  69,407\/-.\t There was a further appeal  to\t the  Kerala
\nSales  Tax  Appellate  Tribunal.  This was  disposed  of  on
\nJanuary\t 2,  1962 in favour of the assessee.   The  Tribunal
\nheld that the sales being inter-State sales were,  according
\nto the decision of the Kerala, High Court in T. R. Cs. 1,  2
\nand  3\tof  1961 (reported in 14 Sales Tax  Cases  850)\t not
\ntaxable.  The Tribunal held that S. 26(1)(b) of the  General
\nSales  Tax Act, as amended by s. 13(ii) of Act 12  of  1957,
\nprohibited the taxation of inter-State sales after March 31,
\n1951.\tThe Deputy Commissioner of Agricultural\t Income\t Tax
\nand Sales
\n417<\/span>
\nTax  Central Zone, Ernakulam, went up to the High  Court  of
\nKerala\tunder  s. 15-B(1) of the Act.  The question  of\t law
\nraised for decision by the High Court was,
\n\t      “Whether in the light of the amending Act 9 of
\n\t      1962 the finding of the Tribunal is correct’?”
\nIn  rejecting  the application, the High Court\treasoned  as
\nfollows: –\n<\/p>\n
\t      (1)  Central  Act 7 of 1956  was\tintended  to
\n\t      validate\tState laws imposing  or\t authorising
\n\t      the  imposition  of  taxes  on  the  sale\t  or
\n\t      purchase of goods in the course ‘of interState
\n\t      trade or commerce.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (2)  This\t Court has decided in the  State  of
\n\t      Kerala  and  others v. The  Cochin  Coal\tCo.,
\n\t      Ltd.<\/a>(1)  that s. 26 of the General  Sales\t Tax
\n\t      Act,  1125  imposed  a  tax  on  the  sale  or
\n\t      purchase\tof  goods in the course\t ‘of  inter-
\n\t      State  trade or commerce and taxation of\tsuch
\n\t      sales  during the period between 1-4-1951\t and
\n\t      6-9-1955\twas validated by the  above  Central
\n\t      Act.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (3)  S. 26 of the General Sales Tax Act,\t1125
\n\t      prior  to its amendment by Act 12 of 1957\t was
\n\t      in  pari\tmateria\t with s. 22  of\t the  Madras
\n\t      General  Sales  Tax  Act\twhich  came  up\t for
\n\t      consideration   in  the  case  of\t M.  P.\t  V.
\n\t      Sundararamier & Co. and others v. The State of
\n\t      Andhra  Pradesh and<\/a> another(2).\tThe  Supreme
\n\t      Court  held  that\t s. 22\tof  the\t Madras\t Act
\n\t      “intended\t to  authorise\ttaxation  of   sales
\n\t      falling  within  the Explanation,\t subject  to
\n\t      authorisation   by  Parliament as provided  in
\n\t      Art. 286(2)”.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (4) Act\t 12  of 1957 raised the\t controversy
\n\t      as to whether Central\tAct 7 of 1956  could
\n\t      be  considered as sabaging the levy of tax  on
\n\t      inter-State   sales   after   the\t   amendment
\n\t      introduced   in  s.  26.\t According  to\t the
\n\t      decision in T.R. Cs. 1, 2 and 3 of 1961 inter-
\n\t      State  sales after 3 1st March, 1951 were\t not
\n\t      taxable.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (5)  The Constitution (Sixth  Amendment)\tAct,
\n\t      1956 made substantial changes as regards\tlevy
\n\t      of  tax in inter-State sales.  As a result  of
\n\t      the amendment of Art. 269 taxes on the sale or
\n\t      purchase of goods other than newspapers, where
\n\t      such  sale  or  purchase takes  place  in\t the
\n\t      course  of inter-State trade or commerce\twere
\n\t      to  be levied and collected by the  Government
\n\t      of   India  and  it  was\tfor  Parliament\t  to
\n\t      formulate\t principles for determining  when  a
\n\t      sale  or purchase of goods takes place in\t the
\n\t      course of inter-State trade or commerce.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (6)  The Validating Act 9 of 1962 was  enacted
\n\t      subsequent   to\tthe   Constitution    (Sixth
\n\t      Amendment)  Act which came into force on\t11th
\n\t      September 1956.  In
\n(1) [1961] 2 S.C.R. 219.\n<\/p>\n
(2) [1958] S.C.R. 1422.\n<\/p>\n
418<\/span><\/p>\n
\t      view  of the amendment of the Constitution  in
\n\t      1956  the\t Legislature of Kerala had  not\t the
\n\t      competence  to  pass any\tlegislation  on\t the
\n\t      subject\t of   inter-State   sales    whether
\n\t      prospective  or retrospective or both  in\t the
\n\t      year 1962 with the result that the State could
\n\t      not  call\t in aid the provisions of Act  9  of
\n\t      1962 to tax inter-State sales.\n<\/p>\n
The  appellant’s  case was argued by the  learned  Solicitor
\nGeneral.  One E. J. Mathew was allowed to intervene in\tthis
\nmatter.\t In our view, the High Court failed to construe\t the
\neffect\tof the relevant statutes and apply the decisions  of
\nthis   Court   rendered\t before\t they  heard   the   matter.
\nProceeding chronologically, the legal position developed  as
\nfollows.\n<\/p>\n
Before\tthe  Constitution came into  force,  The  Travancore
\nCochin State General Sales Tax Act, XI of 1125 levied a\t tax
\non  sale of goods under S. 3 of the Act.  The tax was to  be
\npaid by the dealer on his turnover in each year.  There\t was
\nthen no question of any exemption of inter-State sales\tfrom
\ntaxation.   S. 26 was inserted in the main Act by Act 12  of
\n1951 and it ran as follows:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “(1)  Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in
\n\t      this Act-\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (a)  a  tax on the sale or purchase  of  goods
\n\t      shall not be imposed under this Act:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (i)  where such sale or purchase\ttakes  place
\n\t      outside the State; or\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (ii)  where such sale or purchase takes  place
\n\t      in  the course of import of the goods into  or
\n\t      export  of the goods out of, the territory  of
\n\t      India.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (b)  a,  tax on the sale or  purchase  of\t any
\n\t      goods  shall not, after the 31st day of  March
\n\t      1951,  be imposed where such sale or  purchase
\n\t      takes place in the course of inter-State trade
\n\t      or commerce except in so far as Parliament may
\n\t      by law otherwise provide.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (2)   The\t explanation to clause (1)  of\tArt.
\n\t      286  of the Constitution of India shall  apply
\n\t      for  the interpretation of sub-cl. (i) of\t cl.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (a) of sub-section (1)”.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This  was  to bring the Act into line with Art. 286  of\t the
\nConstitution  of India.\t Then came the judgment in the\tcase
\nof  The, Bengal Immunity Company Ltd. v. The State of  Bihar
\nand  others<\/a>(1) on September 6, 1955.  There it\twas  decided
\nthat the sales or purchases made by the appellant company in
\nthat  case  which were sought to be taxed by  the  State  of
\nBihar actually took place in the course of inter-State trade
\nor  commerce  and  Parliament not having  by  law  otherwise
\nprovided,  no Bihar law could tax these sales  or  purchases
\nalthough they fell within the Explanation to Art. 286(1) and
\nother States could not tax the same by reason of both clause
\nI  (a)\tread with the Explanation and cl. (2) of  Art.\t286.
\nThis led to
\n(1) [1955] 2 S.C.R. 603.\n<\/p>\n
419<\/span><\/p>\n
the passing of Central Act 7 of 1956.  The object of the Act
\nwas to validate laws of States imposing, or authorising\t the
\nimposition of taxes on the sale or purchase of goods in\t the
\ncourse\tof  interState trade or commerce.  S, 2 of  the\t Act
\nprovided that:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “Notwithstanding any judgment, decree or order
\n\t      of  any court, no law of a State imposing,  or
\n\t      authorising  the imposition of, a, tax on\t the
\n\t      sale or purchase of any goods where such\tsale
\n\t      or purchase took place in the course of inter-
\n\t      State  trade  or commerce\t during\t the  period
\n\t      between the 1st day of April 1951 and the\t 6th
\n\t      day of September, 1955, shall be deemed to  be
\n\t      invalid or ever to have been invalid merely by
\n\t      reason of the fact that such sale or  purchase
\n\t      took place in the course of inter-State  trade
\n\t      or  commerce;  and all such  taxes  levied  or
\n\t      collected\t or purporting to have been  validly
\n\t      levied  or  collected  during  the   aforesaid
\n\t      period  shall  be deemed always to  have\tbeen
\n\t      validly levied or collected in accordance with
\n\t      law.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A  question  here  arises  as  to  whether  this   statutory
\nprovision  served  to lift the ban imposed by s. 26  of\t the
\nGeneral Sales Tax Act.\n<\/p>\n
Then  came the Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act,  1956  on
\nSeptember  11,\t1956.\tIt made\t substantial  and  important
\nchanges\t in  Art. 286 of the Constitution  by  deleting\t the
\nExplanation  to\t Art. 286(1) and by  substituting  new\tArt.
\n286(2)\tand 286(3).  It also amended Art. 269.\tIt  inserted
\nitem  92A  in  the Union List of the  Seventh  Schedule\t and
\nsubstituted  a new entry 54 in place of the old one  in\t the
\nState  List  of\t the said Schedule.  As a  result  of  these
\namendments,  taxes  on the sale or purchase of\tgoods  other
\nthan  newspapers, where such sale or purchase took place  in
\nthe  course of interstate trade or commerce could be  levied
\nand collected by the Government of India which was empowered
\nto assign the same to the States in terms of cl. (2) of Art.\n<\/p>\n
269.   Art. 269(3) empowered Parliament by law to  formulate
\nprinciples for determining when a, sale or purchase of goods
\ntakes place in the course of inter-State trade or  commerce.
\nThe new item 92A added to the Union List read:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “Taxes on the sale or purchase of goods  other
\n\t      than  newspapers, where such sale or  purchase
\n\t      takes place in the course of inter-State trade
\n\t      or commerce.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The old entry 54 in the State List was substituted by a\t new
\nentry reading:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “Taxes on the sale or purchase of goods  other
\n\t      than newspapers, subject to the provisions  of
\n\t      entry 92A of List I.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It  would therefore appear that after the amendment  of\t the
\nConstitution  in  1956\tthe  State  Legislatures  were\t not
\ncompetent  to legislate in respect of taxes on the  sale  or
\npurchase of goods other than newspapers which took place  in
\nthe course of inter-State trade or commerce.\n<\/p>\n
420<\/span><\/p>\n
Next in order of date is the Travancore-Cochin General Sales
\nTax (Amendment) Act, 1957 (12 of 1957) which came into force
\non  August  7, 1957.  S. 13 of this Act\t introduced  several
\nchanges in S. 26 of Act XI of 1125.  In the first place,  it
\nsubstituted  the  word\t‘State’\t for  the  words  “State  of
\nTravancore-Cochin”, in sub-cl. (i) of cl. (a) of sub-s.\t (1)
\nof s. 26.  It also deleted the words:\n<\/p>\n
“except\t in  so\t far  as Parliament  may  by  law  otherwise
\nprovide”\n<\/p>\n
in  cl.\t (b)  of sub-s. (1) and omitted sub-s.\t(2)  of\t the
\nsection.   By its terms the amendment was only\tprospective.
\nIt did not seek to disturb the position in law obtaining  up
\nto  that  date.\t  It was argued before\tus  that  the  State
\nLegislature  was  not competent to legislate in\t this  field
\nafter the Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act.
\nOn March 11, 1958 Sundararamier & Co.’s case(1) was  decided
\nby  this Court.\t That case dealt with the competence of\t the
\nStates\tto  levy  tax  on inter-State  sales  and  to  enact
\nconditional  legislation on the subject.  The statute  which
\ncame  up for consideration was the Madras General Sales\t Tax
\nAct,  1939 (Madras Act 9 of 1939) as adapted to Andhra\tread
\nwith s. 2 of the Sales Tax Laws Validation Act (7 of  1956).
\nS.  22 of the Madras General Sales Tax Act was\tinserted  in
\nthe  statute by an Adaptation Order of the President  issued
\non  July  2,  1952 and cl.  (a)\t thereof  was  substantially
\nsimilar\t to  S. 26(1)(a) of  the  Travancore-Cochin  General
\nSales  Tax Act XI of 1125.  The effect of cl. (b) of  s.  22
\nwas that nothing in the Act (Madras Act) was to be deemed to
\nimpose\tor authorise the imposition of a tax on the sale  or
\npurchase  of  any goods where such sale\t or  purchase  takes
\nplace in the course of inter-State trade or commerce  except
\nin so far as Parliament may bylaw otherwise provide after  3
\n1st March 1951 and the provisions of the Act were to be read
\nand construed accordingly.  There was an Explanation to this
\nsection which is a verbatim reproduction of the\t Explanation
\nto Art. 286(1)(a).  It was held by this Court tat page 1453)
\nthat:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “Taken  along with the admitted power  of\t the
\n\t      States to impose tax on sales under Entry\t 54,
\n\t      the true scope of s. 22 is that it does impose
\n\t      a\t tax  on  the  Explanation  sales,  but\t the
\n\t      imposition   is  to  take\t effect\t only\twhen
\n\t      Parliament lifts the ban.\t In other words,  it
\n\t      is  a  piece of legislation  imposing  tax  in
\n\t      praesenti but with a condition annexed that it
\n\t      is  to come into force in futuro as  and\twhen
\n\t      Parliament so provides……………………
\n\t      It  would clearly be within the competence  of
\n\t      the   Madras  Legislature\t to  enact  a,\t law
\n\t      imposing a tax on sales conditional on the ban
\n\t      enacted\tin  Art.  286(2)  being\t lifted\t  by
\n\t      Parliamentary  legislation, and that,  in\t our
\n\t      opinion,\tis all that has been done in s.\t 22.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      The Madras Act defines the event on which\t the
\n\t      tax  becomes payable and the person from\twhom
\n\t      and the
\n(1)  [1958] S.C.R. 1422,
\n421<\/span>
\n\t      rate at which it has to be levied and forms  a
\n\t      complete\t  code\t  on   the    topic    under
\n\t      consideration.   It  would have  no  immediate
\n\t      operation by reason of the ban imposed by Art.
\n\t      286(2), but when once that is removed by a law
\n\t      of  Parliament, there is no impediment to\t its
\n\t      being   enforced.That   satisfies\t  all\t the
\n\t      requirements of a conditional legislation.”
\nDiscussing  various authorities cited at the Bar this  Court
\napproved of the decision in Mettur Industries Ltd. v.  State
\nof  Madras(1)  and Dial Das v. P. S. Talwalkar(2)  and\theld
\nthat s. 22 operated to impose a tax on sales failing  within
\nthe  Explanation subject to authorisation by  Parliament  as
\nprovided in Art, 286(2).  At page 1463, the Court went on to
\nobserve:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “If it is competent to the legislatures of the
\n\t      States to enact a law imposing a tax on inter-<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      State sales to take effect when Parliament  so
\n\t\t\t    provides, there is nothing unconstitut
\nional  or
\n\t      illegal  either in s. 22 of the Madras Act  or
\n\t      in the corresponding provisions in the Acts of
\n\t      other  States.  If conditional legislation  is
\n\t      valid,  as we have held it is, then s.  22  is
\n\t      clearly  intro  vires and\t the  foundation  on
\n\t      which  this  contention  of  the\t petitioners
\n\t      rests,  disappears  and it must  fall  to\t the
\n\t      ground.”\n<\/p>\n
The case of the State of Kerala & Others v. The Cochin\tCoal
\nCompany Ltd<\/a>(“) was decided on October 31, 1960.\t There,\t the
\nrespondent  who stocked bunker coal at Candla Island in\t the
\nState  of  Madras sold the coal to steamers calling  at\t the
\nport  of  Cochin  in  the  State  of  Travancore-Cochin\t and
\ndelivered  it there.  The respondent was assessed  to  sales
\ntax  on such sales for the years 1951-52 and  1952-53.\t The
\nrespondent  contended inter alia that the sale being in\t the
\ncourse\tof  inter-State\t trade\twas  covered,  by  the\t ban
\ncontained  in  Art. 286(2) of the Constitution and  was\t not
\ntaxable\t under the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax\tAct,
\n1125.  The State contended that this claim for exemption was
\nnot available in view of the Sales Tax Laws Validation\tAct,
\n1956.  The High Court held that the Validation Act could not
\navail  the State because on their construction of s.  26  of
\nthe Act, no tax had been levied or was leviable on sales  in
\nthe  course  of inter-State trade or commence and  that\t the
\nValidation  Act having validated only taxes  already  levied
\ncould  not enable the State to levy tax which had  not\tbeen
\nimposed by the State Sales Tax Act.  This Court rejected the
\nview of the High Court (see 7 S.T.C. 731 at p. 738) and held
\nthat  “the  view  of the learned Judges of  the\t High  Court
\nregarding the construction of s. 26 of the Travancore-Cochin
\nGeneral\t Sales Tax Act must now be held to be  incorrect  in
\nview   of’  the\t decision  of  this  Court  in\tM.   P.\t  V.
\nSundararamier & Co. v., The State of Andhra Pradesh(4).
\n(1)  A.T.R. 1957 Mad. 362.\n<\/p>\n
(2)  A.I.R. 1957 Bom. 71.\n<\/p>\n
(3)  [1961] 2 S.C.R. 219.\n<\/p>\n
(4) [1958] S.C.R. 1422.\n<\/p>\n
422<\/span><\/p>\n
The position which emerges from the above may be  summarised
\nbelow: –\n<\/p>\n
\t      (1)The  enactment\t of  the   Travancore-Cochin
\n\t      General Sales Tax Act as it stood prior to the
\n\t      coming into force of the Constitution, imposed
\n\t      a\t levy  of sales tax on transactions  of\t the
\n\t      nature disclosed in this case.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (2)S.  26\t of the General Sales  Tax  Act,  as
\n\t      amended in 1951, imposed a ban on the levy  of
\n\t      tax  after  March\t 31,  1951  subject  to\t any
\n\t      exception which Parliament may by law provide.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\t      (3)Central  Act 7 of 1956 was enacted for\t the
\n\t      purpose of validating the levy and  collection
\n\t\t\t    of\ttaxes between 1-4-1951 and  6-9-19
\n55  which
\n\t      would ‘otherwise be invalid, by reason of\t the
\n\t      decision in the Bengal Immunity Co.’s case(1).
\n\t      (4)In  Sundararamier’s case(2) it was held  by
\n\t      this  Court that s. 22 of the  Madras  General
\n\t      Sales Tax Act operated to impose a tax subject
\n\t      to authorisation by Parliament as provided  in
\n\t      Art.  286\t (2).  Further, this Court  did\t not
\n\t      agree  with the view of the Kerala High  Court
\n\t      in   Cochin   Coal  Co.  Ltd.  v.\t  State\t  of
\n\t      Travancore-Cochin(3).\n<\/p>\n
\t      (5)In  the  State of Kerala &  Others  v.\t The
\n\t      Cochin Coal Co.  Ltd.<\/a>(4) this Court  overruled
\n\t      the  decision of the Kerala High Court in\t the
\n\t      Cochin   Coal  Co.  Ltd.\tv.  The\t  State\t  of
\n\t      Travancore-Cochin(3)\t regarding\t the
\n\t      construction  ,of\t s. 26\tof  the\t Travancore-
\n\t      Cochin  General  Sales Tax Act :\tfurther\t the
\n\t      assessee’s claim to relief on the strength  of
\n\t      Art.  286(2) of the Constitution was held\t not
\n\t      to be available to them after the coming\tinto
\n\t      force  of the Sales Tax Validation  Act,\t1956
\n\t      (See [1961] 2 S.C.R. pp. 219, 223).\n<\/p>\n
The effect of this was that the levy of sales tax up to\t 4th
\nSeptember,  1955  being\t the last date\twith  which  we\t are
\nconcerned  in  this case, was valid.  The validity  and\t the
\nscope\tof  the\t amendment  introduced\tin  S.\t26  of\t the
\nTravancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act by Act 12 of 1957 do
\nnot  fall to be considered in this case inasmuch as the\t Act
\nwas  only prospective and did not operate to invalidate\t any
\nlevy of tax imposed before.\n<\/p>\n
In  this view of the matter, we are really not concerned  to
\ngo  into the question as to whether the State of Kerala\t had
\nlegislative  competence\t to  enact Act\t9  of  1962  seeking
\nthereby\t to  amend s. 26 of  the  Travancore-Cochin  General
\nSales Tax Act, 1125 by substituting the date 6th  September,
\n1955 in place of 31st March 1951 and purporting to  validate
\nthe  levy  and collection of taxes on  sales  and  purchases
\nfalling\t within the purview of sub-s. (2A) of S. 26  of\t the
\nprincipal Act as inserted by the Act of 1962.  The ban
\n(1)   [1955] 2 S.C.R. 603.\n<\/p>\n
(3)  7 S.T.C. 731.\n<\/p>\n
(2)  [1958] S.C.R. 1422.\n<\/p>\n
(4)  [1961] 2 S.C.R. 219.\n<\/p>\n
423<\/span><\/p>\n
imposed\t by s. 26 of the General Sales Tax Act, 1125  having
\nbeen  lifted by the Central Sales Tax Validating Act,  1956,
\nthe  State was competent to collect all taxes in respect  of
\nsales in the course of inter-State trade and commerce up  to
\nSeptember 5, 1955.\n<\/p>\n
In the result, we hold that sales tax was properly  leviable
\nby the State of Kerala on the transactions which formed\t the
\nsubject\t matter of this case up to the 4th  September  1955;
\nbut the question raised in the application for revision\t was
\nnot correctly framed and should read as follows:\n<\/p>\n
\t      “Whether\tin the light of the Sales  Tax\tLaws
\n\t      Validation  Act, 1956 (Central Act 7 of  1956)
\n\t      read with the Travancore-Cochin General  Sales
\n\t      Tax Act as amended up to 1956, the finding  of
\n\t      the Tribunal is correct?”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We amend the question accordingly.  We allow the appeal\t and
\nanswer the question in the negative.  The matter must now go
\nback  to the High Court and the High Court should remit\t the
\nmatter\tto  the Appellate Tribunal with our opinion  on\t the
\nquestion as reframed.  In the circumstances of this case, we
\nmake no order as to costs.\n<\/p>\n
V.P.S.\t\t\t     Appeal allowed.\n424<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court of India State Of Kerala vs Cochin Coal Co. Ltd., Cochin on 31 August, 1967 Equivalent citations: 1968 AIR 389, 1968 SCR (1) 415 Author: G Mitter Bench: Wanchoo, K.N. (Cj), Bachawat, R.S., Ramaswami, V., Mitter, G.K., Hegde, K.S. PETITIONER: STATE OF KERALA Vs. RESPONDENT: COCHIN COAL CO. LTD., COCHIN DATE OF JUDGMENT: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"\nState Of Kerala vs Cochin Coal Co. 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