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TMI Blog2023 (5) TMI 175X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s 2(g), 2(m), and Section 3 of the Goa Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 2000 as being ultra vires Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 265, 301 and 304(a) of the Constitution of India and seek consequential relief of refund of entry tax recovered by the State from the Petitioners. 3. Since common issues of law and fact arise in both petitions, they are disposed of by a common judgement and order with the consent of the learned counsel. 4. The Petitioner in W.P. No.471/2007 manufactures tyres, tubes, flaps, and other allied rubber products at their unit in Goa. For this, the Petitioner purchases raw materials/components from outside Goa. 5. On 29/8/2000, the Goa Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 2000, entered force. On 30/8/2000, the State of Goa specified that with effect from 1/9/2000, tax shall be levied and collected under the impugned Act at the rates specified therein. The rates were set on a percentile ranging from 0.50% to 10%. From 01,09.2000, the raw materials brought into Goa became taxable, and the Petitioners claim to have discharged this tax liability from time to time. 6. On 14/11/2000, the Government issued a notification superseding the earlier notification dated 30/08/2000 and specified ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Exception:- An agriculturist who brings exclusively agricultural produce grown on land cultivated by him personally shall not be deemed to be a dealer within the meaning of this clause. 2(m) "local area" means the area within the limits of a Council constituted under the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 (Act 7 of 1969), or a Panchayat or Zilla Panchayat established under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 (Act 14 of 1994), a cantonment board, any specified area notified by the Government and any other local authority by whatever nomenclature called, constituted or continued under any law for the time being in force; 3.3. Levy of tax.- (1) There shall be levied and collected a tax on entry of any goods specified in SCHEDULE I hereto, into a local area upon use of any facilities/infrastructure or any other amenities belonging to or provided by the State for consumption, use or sale therein, at such rates not exceeding the rates shown against each of the entry in the said SCHEDULE. (2) The tax levied under sub-section (1) shall be paid by every registered dealer or a dealer liable to get himself registered under this Act who brings or causes to be brought into a local area the g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... respective of the aggregate value of the goods brought or caused to be brought into the local area during the year.] (7) The tax shall be assessed, levied and collected in such manner and in such instalments, if any, as may be prescribed. (8) Subject to such rules as may be made the assessing authority may assess a dealer for any year, as if, the aggregate value of the goods brought or caused to be brought into a local area in such year had been received as in the previous year. (9) The tax shall be in addition to the tax levied and collected as octroi by a Municipal Council, Zilla Panchayat or Village Panchayat or any other local authority, as the case may be, within its local areas." 8. Therefore, as is evident from the above, the scheme of the impugned Act and the charging section stipulate that there shall be a levy and collection of tax on the entry of goods into the State of Goa into a local area for consumption, use or sale therein. Schedule I lists the goods taxable under Section 3(1) of the impugned Act. 9. Section 3(2) of the impugned Act makes it obligatory for the dealer and manufacturers to pay the tax. Section 3(3) of the impugned Act provides certain exem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mpany of such entry tax illegally received from them." 15. After this Petition was instituted, the Constitution Bench comprising Nine Judges of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, examined the question of the constitutional validity of the Entry Tax Legislation that permitted various States to levy entry tax on goods imported from outside the State, into local areas within the State, in case of Jindal Stainless Limited and another vs. State of Haryana and ors. - (2017) 12 SCC 1. 16. By majority, the Constitution Bench answered the reference in the following terms : "11.59.1. Taxes simpliciter are not within the contemplation of Part XIII of the Constitution of India. The word 'Free' used in Article 301 does not mean "free from taxation". 11.59.2. Only such taxes as are discriminatory in nature are prohibited by Article 304(a). It follows that levy of a nondiscriminatory tax would not constitute an infraction of Article 301. 1159.3. Clauses (a) and (b) of Article 304 have to be read disjunctively. 1159.4. A levy that violates 304(a) cannot be saved even if the procedure under Article 304(b)or the proviso there under is satisfied. 1159.5. The compensatory tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on. (B) Further, the question is whether the entire State can be notified as a local area, as done in the State of Goa. 19. Mr Pereira learned Senior Advocate and Mr Sardessai for the Petitioners submitted that both the questions are linked because by declaring the entire State of Goa as a local area in terms of Section 2(m) of the impugned Act, the Petitioner is subjected to hostile discrimination qua the goods which the Petitioners source from outside the State of Goa and bring into the State of Goa. They submitted that while goods brought from outside the State into the State are liable to pay entry tax, those moving the goods from one local area are not subject to entry tax, thereby discriminating against those bringing goods from outside the State. They further submitted that the absence of provisions for exemption/ refund of taxes, even in respect of goods, which initially suffered entry tax, moved out of the local area to another State by way of stock transfer or sale, renders the impugned provisions invalid and ultra vires Entry 52 of the State List. They contend that such provisions violate Article 301 and are not saved by Article 304 of the Constitution. 20. Mr Pere ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate chose to do away with by levying entry tax on the first entry of the goods into a local area in the State. 63. In Jaika Automobiles vs State of Maharashtra - 1992 Mah LJ 1658, this Court in paragraph No.23 has observed as follows : "23. Ground (d) Submission of the Petitioner is that there is in the field a tax in the nature of octroi duty imposed under the various municipal laws made under entry 542, List II and hence impost referable to that very entry amounts to double taxation and hence is bad in law. The submission is wholly misconceived. In the first place, there is neither constitutional nor statutory bar in express terms prohibiting levy of double taxes. Article 265 of the Constitution only mandates that, "no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law". Upon same object and person, separate taxes can be imposed for different purposes by the same authority or by different authorities. Last word on the topic can be found in recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Sri Krishna Das v. Town Area Committee (1990) 183 ITR 401 SC, wherein it is observed: "Double taxation, in the strict legal sense means taxing the same property or subject-ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Petitioner's submission regarding the grant of exemptions and set off ignore the fact that the proviso to Section 3(5) of the Entry Tax Act clarifies that dealers who are registered under the MVAT Act and are importing goods into a local area covered by the Entry Tax Act for the purpose of resale or export are liable to pay entry tax if the goods are not resold and are dealt with in any other manner. Notably, such registered dealers would; be liable to pay VAT or Central Sales Tax to the Revenue at the time of the resale since the MVAT Act and Central Sales Tax Act also apply to the local areas within the State covered by the Entry Tax Act. Such importers are, accordingly, placed on the same footing as other dealers who sell or buy; goods within the State. Instead of levying entry tax on such dealers and then granting a set-off, the Legislature has opted to grant a conditional exemption under Section 3(5) of the MVAT Act. The grant of such an exemption is neither discriminatory nor unconstitutional. The Petitioner's submissions further ignore the fact that the grant of set-off or exemptions to dealers who are registered within the State and importing goods into a loca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be imposed on entry of the goods into local areas within the State, as in the present case. Article 304(a) does not fetter the States from ensuring an equality in the rate of tax levied on goods that are imported from other states and goods manufactured or produced within the State. Since, under the Entry Tax Act and MVAT Act, the rate of tax on specified goods which are imported into the local areas in the State of Maharashtra is brought at par with the rate on similar goods manufactured or produced in the State of Maharashtra, there is no infirmity in the provisions of the Entry Tax Act whether as alleged or at all. There is no unfair or arbitrary classification whether as alleged or at all. 68. ... 69. ... 70. The Act in no way makes any discrimination against the local purchases and importers much less any hostile discrimination. The importers are given input tax credit of Entry Tax Paid to the Government against the VAT liability and balance is payable or refundable as the case may be. Hence tax burden of Entry Tax not borne by the dealers who purchase locally within the State who get set off of the input tax credit u/s 48 r/w 52, is balanced in case of persons ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d that reliance upon Diamond Sugar Mills Ltd. vs State of Uttar Pradesh - (1961) 3 SCR 242 was misplaced because, in that decision, the Apex Court had to deal with a different set of facts. The levy on sugarcane imposed by the State of U.P. was on the incidence of entry into factory premises. The Court, therefore, correctly concluded that factory premises per se could not constitute a local area. The subsequent decision in Shakti Kumar Sancheti vs State of Maharash - (1995) 1 SCC 351 explained that entry into the State with the ultimate destination within the State constituted a taxable event the moment the goods, i.e. the vehicles reached within the limits of the municipality of its ultimate destination. Finally, in Sahaj Gram Panchayat vs State of Gujarat - (1999) 2 SCC 366, the argument that the industrial areas could not be excluded in the exercise of the powers under Article 2439(Q)(1) was repelled. 26. Further, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that it is also a cardinal rule of interpretation that words of a taxing statute should be read in their ordinary, natural, and grammatical meaning. Further, in construing the words in a constitutional enactment that confers legislat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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