Tax concession conditional on licensing is not discriminatory when denied to an unlicensed dealer under a statutory levy scheme.

A statutory single-point sales tax concession under the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939 was available only to dealers who complied with the prescribed licensing and other conditions. The court held that denying the concession to an unlicensed dealer and applying the multi-point levy did not amount to hostile discrimination under Article 14, because licensed and unlicensed dealers were not similarly situated for the purpose of the concession. Non-compliance with the statutory prerequisites justified assessment under section 3(1) read with section 6-A, and the concession in section 5(vi) could not be claimed as of right. The writ challenge failed and the assessment was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the assessment of an unlicensed dealer in hides and skins, made by denying the benefit of the single-point scheme and applying the multi-point levy, was discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Analysis: The single-point levy under the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939 operated as a concession, available only if the dealer satisfied the prescribed restrictions and conditions, including licensing requirements. The differential treatment between licensed and unlicensed dealers did not amount to hostile discrimination, because the two were not similarly situated for the purpose of the concession. The dealer's liability arose from non-compliance with the statutory conditions, and the Act itself did not create an invidious classification. The assessment was therefore supported by the statutory scheme under section 3(1) read with section 6-A, and the concession in section 5(vi) could not be claimed as of right without fulfilling its prerequisites.

Conclusion: The assessment order was not discriminatory and did not offend Article 14. The challenge failed and was against the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition was dismissed with costs, and the impugned tax assessment was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory tax concession conditioned on compliance with prescribed requirements does not create discrimination when denied to a person who fails to satisfy those conditions.

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