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2013 (6) TMI 36 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxExcise licenses for selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor in sealed bottles - whether Nagar Nigam have any power to impose a license on the petitioners when they have already obtained a license from the Excise Department under the U.P. Excise Act and direction to pay ₹ 12,000/- per annum as licence fee? - Held that:- Nagar Nigam is a body that has to perform certain obligatory duties. These duties are provided under Section 114 of the Nagar Nigam Adhiniyam. A cursory look at the section will make it abundantly clear that these duties are directly related to public welfare, health, peace and well being. Further, in order to carry out these duties there is a huge financial burden that the Nagar Nigam has to meet, this financial burden is reduced by collecting taxes and fees in lieu of these services. As Rule 5(8) enshrines that in urban areas, no new shop shall be opened without notice to the Nagar Mahapalika, Town area or notified area, as the case may be. Sending of notice is not a mere formality. Requiring of notice denotes that if any objection is made by the Nagar Nigam it will be decided by the collector. Thus the objections raised by the Nagar Nigam cannot be ignored or taken lightly. Since for regulatory fee there is no need for any quid pro quo, though the fee cannot be excessive. The assertion of the petitioners that charging of ₹ 12,000/- per annum is highly excessive. The bye-laws have provided ₹ 6,000/- as licence fee for country-made liquor and ₹ 12,000/- for foreign liquor. Thus the fee of ₹ 6,000/- for country-made liquor and ₹ 12,000/per annum is not excessive as it works out to only about ₹ 500/- and ₹ 1,000/- per month, which is a meagre amount. Writ dismissed.
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