Restaurant food tax levy upheld where existing sales tax law already covered cooked food and drinks served for consideration.

Where the local sales tax law already authorised levy on food and drinks served in a restaurant, the Forty-sixth Constitutional Amendment, including Article 366(29A)(f) and Section 6, validated past levies and no fresh post-amendment provision was required. The Bombay Sales Tax Act already covered cooked food and drinks supplied in restaurants, so tax remained recoverable for the material period before 2 February 1983. Authorities cited by the assessee were distinguished because they involved statutes that did not previously provide for such levy. The liability to tax on amounts recovered from customers for restaurant food was therefore upheld in favour of the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether tax was leviable on the amount recovered from customers for serving food in the restaurant for the period prior to 2 February 1983.

Analysis: The constitutional amendment inserting Article 366(29A)(f) enlarged the concept of sale by deeming supply of food and drinks for consideration to be a sale, and Section 6 of the Forty-sixth Amendment Act validated past levies. The Bombay Sales Tax Act already contained provisions and schedule entries which covered cooked food and drinks served in restaurants, so the State law did not require a fresh post-amendment provision to sustain the levy for the material period. The contrary authorities relied on by the assessee were distinguished because they concerned statutes where such levy did not previously exist.

Conclusion: The liability to pay tax on the amount recovered for serving food in the restaurant was upheld, and the question was answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the local sales tax law already authorises levy on food served in a restaurant, the Forty-sixth Constitutional Amendment validates the tax and no fresh amendment is necessary to sustain prior levies.

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