TMI Blog1965 (11) TMI 124X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... A. Ranganatham Chetty, Senior Advocate (A.V. Rangam, with him), for the appellant. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by SATYANARAYANA RAJU, J. -These appeals, by special leave, are from the judgment of a Division Bench of the Madras High Court. Rayalaseema Constructions now defunct was a firm of engineers with its head office at Madras. For the year 1951-52, the firm was assessed under the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) on a gross turnover of Rs. 2,23,174-10-0 as on "works contracts". The order of assessment was made on March 25, 1953, and it was then determined that a sum of Rs. 2,440-15-7 was payable by the firm. Deducting ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as that by reason of the decision in Gannon Dunkerley's case', the levy made upon it was unlawful, that the State had no authority to demand payment of the amounts and that therefore there should be a direction prohibiting the State from collecting the amounts. By its judgment dated February 2, 1959, the Division Bench of the High Court held that in relation to a tax where an assessing officer acted outside the boundaries of his jurisdiction, his acts would, to that extent, be null and void, that no one would have any power to call upon a citizen to make payment of a tax so imposed, and if any authority sought to collect a tax so im- posed, the citizen could call in aid Article 265 and seek the assistance of the Court. As a result of the co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g with the Madras High Court, that the provisions introduced by the Madras General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1947, were ultra vires the powers of the Provincial Legislature. After considering the relevant constitutional provisions, this Court came to the definite conclusion that the State Legislature had no competence to impose a tax on "indivisible building contracts". There is therefore no doubt that the relevant provisions of the Madras General Sales Tax Act in so far as they deal with "indivisible building contracts" are ultra vires the powers of the State Legislature and there fore void. It follows that in the instant case, the Sales Tax Authorities have acted outside the Act in making an assessment on the basis of the relevant part ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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