Co-extensive taxing power bars Cantonment Board entry tax where municipal law lacks authority

Section 60 of the Cantonments Act, 1924 does not create an independent taxing power; it is co-extensive with the taxing power available to municipalities under the relevant State law. Because the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act, 1922 did not authorise entry tax on mechanically propelled vehicles entering municipal limits, the Cantonment Board could not levy such a tax in the cantonment area. The contrast with the Madhya Pradesh municipal law, which expressly permitted entry tax on vehicles entering limits, confirmed that the board cannot exercise a wider power than the municipality itself.

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Issues: Whether a Cantonment Board can levy entry tax on vehicles entering the cantonment area when the corresponding municipal law does not confer power on municipalities to levy such entry tax.

Analysis: The taxing power under section 60 of the Cantonments Act, 1924 is not an independent source of taxation; it is co-extensive with the taxing power available to the municipality in the relevant State law. The Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act, 1922 permits taxation on vehicles, horses and other animals specified in the First Schedule, but that scheme is confined to vehicles kept or used in the ordinary course within the municipality. The Act does not confer power to levy a tax on the entry of mechanically propelled vehicles into municipal limits. Since the municipality itself had no authority to impose entry tax on such vehicles, the Cantonment Board could not claim a larger power under section 60. The Madhya Pradesh decision was distinguished because the M.P. Municipalities Act, 1961 specifically authorised entry tax on vehicles entering municipal limits, unlike the Bihar enactment.

Conclusion: The Cantonment Board had no authority or competence to levy entry tax on vehicles entering the cantonment area.

Ratio Decidendi: A Cantonment Board's power to levy tax under section 60 of the Cantonments Act is dependent on and cannot exceed the corresponding taxing power conferred on municipalities by the relevant State municipal law; absent municipal authority to levy entry tax, the Cantonment Board cannot levy it either.

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