Market fee liability under the U.P. Mandi law rests on the seller, even if the burden is passed to the buyer.

Under Section 17(iii)(b)(3) of the U.P. Krishi Utpadan Mandi Adhiniyam, 1964, the market fee liability on a sale by a trader to the Government falls on the seller, not the purchaser. The provision permits the seller to recover the fee from the purchaser by using permissive language, but it imposes a mandatory duty on the seller to pay the Market Committee by using the word "shall". The statutory scheme therefore fastens the legal liability on the selling trader, even if the economic burden may be passed on to the purchaser.

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Issues: Whether, under Section 17(iii)(b)(3) of the U.P. Krishi Utpadan Mandi Adhiniyam, 1964, the liability to pay market fee on a sale by a trader to the Government under the levy order falls on the seller or on the purchaser.

Analysis: The provision applies where a trader purchases from another trader. It gives the seller only a limited option to realise the market fee from the purchaser by using the word "may", but imposes an imperative duty on the seller to pay the fee to the Market Committee by using the word "shall". The scheme of the provision shows that the Committee's right to collect the fee is against the seller, irrespective of whether the seller has recovered the amount from the purchaser. Earlier observations under the Act and the distinction from differently worded provisions in other statutes support the view that the seller remains primarily liable to the Committee, though he may pass on the burden to the purchaser.

Conclusion: The liability to pay market fee under Section 17(iii)(b)(3) is on the seller and not on the purchaser Government.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed because the statutory scheme fastens the market fee liability on the selling trader, leaving only a right to recover the amount from the purchaser.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing or fee provision uses permissive language for recovery from the purchaser but mandatory language for payment to the collecting authority, the statutory liability is on the seller, even if the economic burden may be shifted to the purchaser.

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