Transit pass provisions under U.P. sales tax law apply only to through-movements, not goods imported into the State and unloaded there.

Section 28-B of the U.P. Sales Tax Act applies only to vehicles merely passing through Uttar Pradesh on an onward journey to another State; it does not cover goods brought into Uttar Pradesh and unloaded there, even if later moved onward. On the facts stated, the coal was imported into and received within the State, so the transit-pass regime under section 28-B and rule 87 was inapplicable. Because those provisions did not govern the petitioners' movement, they could not challenge their constitutional validity on the ground of restraint on trade or movement of goods, and any issue under articles 301 and 19(1)(g) did not arise.

---

---

Issues: Whether section 28-B of the U.P. Sales Tax Act and rule 87 of the U.P. Sales Tax Rules applied to the petitioners' movement of coal through Uttar Pradesh, and whether the petitioners could challenge their constitutional validity on the footing that refusal of a transit pass imposed an unreasonable restriction on trade and movement of goods.

Analysis: The petitioners brought coal into Uttar Pradesh from outside the State and unloaded it within the State, even though the coal was later moved onward to other States. Section 28-B applies only where a vehicle coming from outside the State is bound for another place outside the State and merely passes through Uttar Pradesh. Cases of import or receipt into the State are governed by section 28-A and the connected rules requiring declarations or certificates at the point of entry. On the facts pleaded, the vehicles did not have an onward destination outside Uttar Pradesh when they entered the State, so section 28-B was not attracted. As the provision did not apply to the petitioners, they had no basis to challenge its validity or the validity of rule 87. The suggested infringement of articles 301 and 19(1)(g) therefore did not arise for determination.

Conclusion: The petitioners were not entitled to invoke section 28-B or rule 87, and their challenge to those provisions failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A provision requiring a transit pass for vehicles merely passing through the State cannot be challenged by persons whose goods are brought into and received within the State, because such cases fall under the import-entry provisions and the transit-pass provision is inapplicable.

---