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TMI Blog2013 (4) TMI 233X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 010. Rule 28 of the Rules providing for "Issue of country spirit only on payment of duty", was amended by notification no. 320-EX/O/1R-5/10 dated March 26, 2012, published in the Kolkata Gazette dated April 12, 2012. Sub-rule (2) of Rule 28 was substituted and sub-rule (3) thereof was deleted. 2. The petitioners are licensees/retailers of country spirit. They claim that the amendments in Rule 28 would result in their suffering huge business losses. They say that effect given to the amendments in Rule 28 has resulted in a situation where the maximum retail price of a product that the petitioners have been permitted to sell would be lower than the cost of procurement. Feeling aggrieved thereby, this writ petition dated May 16, 2012 was prese ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct and/or further effect to the impugned decision as contained in the impugned notification dated 26th March, 2012;" 3. At the first hearing of this petition on May 17, 2012, Mr. Sengupta, learned senior counsel representing the petitioners submitted that only prayer (d) supra would be pressed, meaning thereby that the rest of the prayers would stand abandoned. According to him, the official respondents have subjected licensees/retailers of country spirit like the petitioners to arbitrary and discriminatory treatment and, therefore, he prayed that a direction be made for consideration of the petitioners' plight by the official respondents. 4. Mr. Mazumdar, learned counsel for the official respondents, raised a preliminary objection in rel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Act are material. For facility of reference, the same are quoted below: "5. The State Acts to which this Act shall apply - This Act shall apply to every State Act specified in the Schedule to this Act with effect from the date on which such State Act is so specified, and the Tribunal, save as otherwise expressly provided under such State Act and subject to the other provisions of this Act, shall exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority in relation to all matters of adjudication or trial of any disputes, complaints or offences with respect to levy, assessment, collection and enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act and of matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; and no Court except the Supreme Court of India sha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... proceedings under Chapter XXIX and Chapter XXX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 8. Extraordinary jurisdiction - (1) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a person aggrieved by any order passed or action taken pertaining to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal may make an application to it for the redressal of his grievance on any of the grounds referred to in sub-section (3). Explanation _ For the purposes of this sub-section, "order" means an order made by any authority under any specified State Act and "action" means an action taken by any authority under any of the specified State Acts or by the State Government in the matter of, and in relation to, levy7, assessment, collection and enforcement of any tax. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ry, a thing is said to be incidental to another when it appertains to the principal thing. The word 'incidental', according to Webster's New World Dictionary, means "happening or likely to happen as a result of or in connection with something more important; being an incident; casual; hence, secondary or minor, but usually associated". Matters incidental to a thing must, therefore, mean something happening as a result of or in connection with the thing or associated with the thing. The business loss that the petitioners say they are suffering or likely to suffer, without any iota of doubt, is incidental to a levy i.e. payment of excise duty in terms of amended Rule 28. Thus, even an order for consideration of their grievance cannot be pas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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