TMI Blog1990 (9) TMI 79X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... des that the State Government may by general or special order direct that the manufacture, import, export, transport, storage, sale, purchase, etc. of any liquor shall be under the supervision of such prohibition and excise or police staff as they may deem proper to appoint and the cost of such staff shall be paid by person manufacturing, importing, exporting, etc. of the liquor. The charges paid by the manufacturers or importers under Section 58A of the Act are known as supervision charges. Condition No. 3 of F.L.I. licence prescribes that the petitioner shall pay to the Government in advance at the beginning of each quarter such costs or charges as may be fixed by the State Government from time to time. The State Government fixed the char ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fore, the demand notice should be struck down. As regards the first contention that the respondents have no authority to demand the difference in the cost of rendering service under Section 58A of the Act, an identical contention was raised in Writ Petition No. 631 of 1982 (Maneckjee Majshedjee v. The State of Maharashtra and others) filed on the Original Side of this Court and one of us (Pendse, J.) by judgment dated June 19, 1986 turned down the contention. It was held that what is charged by the State Government under Section 58A is fees for the service rendered and not the tax. Section 58A enables the State Government to appoint staff under whose supervision the importation or storage of liquor will be carried out and the cost of such s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re period of the licence could have been demanded in a lump sum or spread over. Relying on the expression 'predetermined amount' Shri Setalwad urges that according to the terms of the licence, the predetermined price was recovered from the petitioner for each of the quarter and the condition nowhere prescribed that the charges are subject to alteration and, therefore, it is not open to demand additional charges because of revision of wages of the staff. We are unable to find any merit in the submission. The charges were settled for every quarter by taking into consideration the cost which is required to be incurred by the State Government for providing the services of the staff. As soon as the cost increased because of revision of wages, th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of India. The Supreme Court then observed : "In the absence of any period of limitation it is settled that every authority is to exercise the power within a reasonable period. What would be reasonable period would depend upon the facts of each case. Whenever a question regarding the inordinate delay in issuance of notice of demand is raised, it would be open to the assessee to contend that it is bad on the ground of delay and it will be for the relevant officer to consider the question whether in the facts and circumstances of the case notice or demand for recovery was made within reasonable period. No hard and fast rules can be laid down in this regard as the determination of the question will depend upon the facts of each case." Rel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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