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TMI Blog1968 (8) TMI 186X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of an order passed by the High Court of Kerala holding that the Kerala Buildings Tax Act 19 of 1961 is ultra. vires the Legislature in that it infringes the equality clause of the Constitution. The State Kerala has appealed against the decision With special leave granted by this Court. The material provisions of the Kerala Buildings Act, 1961, may be briefly set out. The Act extends to the whole of the State of Kerala; s. 1 (2), and shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from March 2, 1961; s. 1(3). An "assessee" is defined by s. 2(b) as meaning a person by whom building tax or any other sum of money is payable under the Act and includes every person in respect of whom any proceeding under the Act has been taken for the asse ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a floor area between 2,000 to 4,000 sq. ft. varies between Rs. 400 to Rs. 800; for buildings having total floor area between 4,000 to 8,000 sq. ft. it varies between Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 2,400; for buildings, with total floor area of 8,000 to 12,000 sq. ft. it varies between Rs. 3,200 to Rs. 4,800; and in respect of buildings having total floor area exceeding 12,000 sq. ft. a rate of 50 np. per sq. foot i.e., Rs. 6,000 or more per annum. For determining the quantum of tax the sole test is the area of the floor of the building. The Act applies to the entire State of Kerala, and whether the building is situate in a large industrial town or in an insignificant village, the rate of tax is determined by the floor area: it does not depend upon the p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... w, which must mean valid law. In order that the law may be valid, the tax proposed to be levied must be within the legislative competence of the Legislature imposing a tax and authorising the collection thereof and, secondly, the tax must be subject to the conditions laid down in Art. 13 of the Constitution. One of such conditions envisaged by Art. 13(2) is that the Legislature shall not make an)' law which takes away or abridges the equality clause in Art. 14, which enjoins the State not to deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws of the country. It cannot be disputed that if the Act infringes the provisions of Art. 14 of the Constitution. it must be struck down as unconstitutional.: Similar observati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y the imposition of a uniform tax, discrimination may result, for, in our view, refusal to make a rational classification may itself in some cases operate as denial of equality. This Court in a recent judgment has decided that the levy of tax in exercise of the power under Entry 49 List II of the Seventh Schedule in respect of factory buildings in a municipal area based on floor area was illegal: New Manek Chowk Spinning and Weaving Mills Co. Ltd. V. Municipal Corporation of the City of Ahmedabad ([1967] 2 S.C.R. 679). The Court held in that case that the method of adopting a flat rate for a floor area for determining the annual value adopted by the Corporation of Ahmedabad in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by the Bombay Provincia ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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