STATE OF ASSAM & ORS. versus LABANYA PROBHA DEBI

Citation: [1967] 3 S.C.R. 611 · Decided: 11-04-1967 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K. SUBBA RAO · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

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

Judgment (excerpt)

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STATE OF ASSAM & ORS. 
v. 
LABANYA PROBHA DEBI 
April 11, 1967 
[K. SUBBA RAO, C.J., M. HIDAYATULLAH, R. S. BACHAWAT, 
J. M. SHELAT AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ.] 
Con.!litution of India, 1950; A.rt. 301, Entry ~? of f:ist II and E!fll{; 
35 of List Ill-Taxation of motor vehicles and Prmc1p/es of tax•twn 
of motor vehicles, difference-Art. 301, scope of. 
Under the Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1936, 
no 
motor 
vehicle could be wed in the Assam Province .unless the owner .thereof 
had· paid in respect of it a tax at the appropr1ate rate specified 1_n 
the 
Schedule to the Act. 
The Schedule was amended from time to 11me by 
the substitution of new Schedules and as a result of such amendments 
in 1963 and 1966, the tax O'll stage carriage motor vehicles was gradually 
raised. 
In a writ petition, filed by the respondent, challenging the validity of 
the Amending Acts of 1963 and 1966, the High Court. held. that the 
Amendin~ Acts were made in respe~t !'f the matter .contained in Entry 35 
of the Concurrent List, namely prmc1ples of taxation of motor vehicles, 
and, as the provisions of the Amending Acts were incon~i!ltent with those 
of the existing Jaw, namely, the 1936 Act, the Amendmg 
Acts 
were 
void, because, the assent of the President as required by Art. 254 was 
not received. 
In appeal .to this Court, 
HELD : (i) Taxes on vehicles connote the' liability to pay taxes at 
the rates at which the taxes are to be levied, 
while, 
the ex:.pression 
",Principles of taxation" denote5 rules of guidance in the matter of taxa. 
t1on. 
The Amending Acts do not come into conflict with the existing 
law in re·spect of any principles of taxation within the meaning of Entry 
35 of the Concurrent List, but only deal with a subject matter, namely, 
taxes on vehicles within the meaning of Entry 57 of the Stato List which 
is exclusively within the legislative competence of the State Legi'stature; 
and "' wch. there is no scope for invoking Art. 254. 
[615A-C] 
. (iiJ_ lt is only a comparatively sm11l proportion of the general expen-
d1.lure incurred on new roads and the mainte.nance of the old roads that 
was realised through the impugned taxation. Therefore, the Amending 
~ct~ ~re only regulatory measures imposing compensatory taxes for faci~ 
htating trade, comme-rcc and intsrcourse. 
The Acts arc, hence. not hit 
by Art. 301 of the Constitution. 
[616CJ 
The Automobile Transport (Raj1Utha11) Ltd. v. The State of Rajas-
than, [1963] 1 S.C.R. 491, followed. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No, 38 
of 
1967. 
Appeal from the judgment and order dated December I, 
1966, of the Assam and Nagaland High Court ill' Civil Rule No. 
145 of 1964. 
S. V. Gupte, Solicitor-General and Naunit Lal, for the appel-
lants. 
617 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1967] 3 S.C.R. 
Ram Labhaya Obhrai, I. M. Obhrai, S.K. Mehta and K. L. 
Mehta, for the a-espondent. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
Subbarao C.J. 
This appeal by certificate is directed against 
the order of the High Court of Assam declaring that the Assam 
Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Acts of 1963 and 1966 
were repugnant to the Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1936 
(Assam Act9 of 1936), hereinafter called the Principal Act, and, 
therefore, void as they were made in contravention of the provi-
sions of Art. 254(2) of the Constitution. 
The facts are in a small compass and they are as follows 
The Principal Act came into force on March l', 1937. The assent 
of the Governor-General in Council was given under section 35 
of the Government of India Act, 1935. This Act imposes tax 
on motor vehicles in the Province of Assam. In 1955 the Prin-
cipal Act was amended by Assam Act IV of 1956 and it had 
received the assent of the President. 
Subsequently the Principal 
Act was amended by Act 15 of 1963, but the Bill was introduced 
in the Assam State Assembly with the previous sanction of the 
President and it came into force on April 1, 1963. Subsequent 
to the filirig of the petition, out of which the present appeal has 
arisen, the Principal Act was again amended in the year 1966 and 
it came into force on April 1, 1966. The tax on the stage car-
riage motor vehicles was gradually raised under each amendment 
and under the last of the amendments a sum of Rs. 56/- was im-
posed per seat. 
Under the last amendment Act the petitioner-
respondent had to pay a sum of Rs. 1680/- as tax for the stage 
carriage she was plying. 
The respondent fi

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