SODHI TRANSPORT CO. & ANR, ETC. ETC. versus STATE OF U.P, & ANR. ETC, ETC.

Citation: [1986] 1 S.C.R. 939 · Decided: 20-03-1986 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: E.S. VENKATARAMIAH · Disposal: Disposed off

Cited by 3 judgment(s) · cites 1 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

939 
SODHI TRANSPORT CO, & ANR, ETC. ETC, 
V• 
STATE OF U.P, & ANR. ETC, ETC. 
MARCH 20, 1986 
[E.S. VENKATARAMIAH AND M.P. 1l!AKKAR, JJ.] 
Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948/ Uttar Pradesh Sales 
Tax Rules, 1948: s. 28-B/r.87 - Constitutional Validity of -
Goods - Transit qf through the State - Failure to surrender 
transit pass at check-post -
Presumption of sale of goods 
A 
B 
within the State - Whether arises. 
c 
Indian Evidence Act, 
Provision 
of 
taxing 
presumption - Effect of. 
1872: s.4 - Rebuttable presumption 
statute 
creating 
a 
rebuttable 
Words and Phrases: 'Shall presume' - Meaning of - s .4, 
Indian Evidence Act/s.28-B Utcar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948. 
Section 28 of the Uttar Pradesh Sales Twi: Act, 1948 
authorises the State GoverD11ent to establiah checl<posts and 
barriers with a view to preventing evasion of twi: or other 
dues payable under the Act in respect of sale of goods in the 
State. Section 28-B, added by the U.P. Act I of 1973, llllkes 
provision for the procedure to be followed by persons who 
intend to transpc>rt goods from outside the State by road 
through the State to destinations outside the State. It 
provides that when a vehicle COiiing froa any place outside the 
State and bound for any other place outside the State pas0es 
through the State, the driver or the other person in-charge of 
such vehicle shall obtain in the.prescribed manner a transit 
pass froa the officer in-charge of the first checkpost or 
barrier after bis entry into the State and deliver it to the 
officer in-charge of the checl<post or barrier before md.t fro. 
the State. If he fails to do so it shall be prealQ!led that the 
goods carried thereby have been sold within the State by the 
Q!Wller or person in-charge of the vehicle. Rule 87 of the Uttar 
Pradesh Sales Tax Rules 1948, inserted by the U,P, Sales 'r.-: 
(First Amendment) Rules, 1974 provides that a person who 
wishes to obtain a transit· pas• shall make an applicatic>n in 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
940 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1986] 1 s.c.R. 
A 
the prescribed form to the officer in-charge of the checkpost 
concerned. It also provides for the issue of transit pass in 
triplicate and for inspection of the documents, consignments 
and goods to ensure that the statements are true. 
B 
E 
F 
G 
The appellants, who claim to be engaged in the business 
of transport of goods belonging to others for hire and who in 
the course of their business have to carry goods fro• one 
State to another State along roads lying in the State of Uttar 
Pradesh, questioned the validity of s.28-B of the Act and r.87 
of the Rules by filing writ petitions before the High Court. 
Their contentions were (i) that s.28-B and r.87 were outside 
the scope of Entry 54 of the Seventh Schedule of the 
Constitution, (11) that they infringed freedOll of trade, 
connerce and intercourse guaranteed under Art. 301 of the 
Constitution, 
and 
(iii) 
that 
they 
imposed 
unreasonable 
restrictions on the freedom of trade guaranteed under Art. 
19( 1) (g) of the Constitution. 
The High Court having upheld 
the constitutional validity of the impugned provisions appeals 
were preferred to this Court by special leave. 
In the writ petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution 
in addition to the contentions raised in the High Court, it 
was submitted that the rule of presumption contained 
in 
s. 28-B of the Act virtually made a person, who had not 
actually sold the goods, liable to pay sales tax, and that a 
transporter being just a transporter could not be treated as a 
dealer within the meaning of that expression as it was defined 
in the Act at its conmencement. 
Disposing of the appeals and writ petitions, the Court, 
HELD : 1. The decision of the High Court upholding the 
constitutionality of s. 28-B of the Utter Pradesh Sales Tax 
Act, 1948 and r.87 of the Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Rules, 1948 
does not call for any interference. [957 D] 
The Act is traceable to Entry 54 in List II of the 
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. Section 28-B of the Act 
and r.87 of the Rules are enacted to make the law workable and 
• 
I 
to prevent evasion of tax. They fall within the ambit and A 
scope of the power 
to 
levy the tax itself. When the 
'.::--""' 
H 
legislature has the power to make a law with respect to any 
_, ' 
/. 
I 
SODHI TRANSPORT v, STATE 
941 
subject it has all the ancillary and incidental powers to make 
that law effective. [949 D; 950 E; 949' E] 
Sardar llaldev Sillgh v. Comnf.saioner of

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