Motor vehicle tax refund depends on statutory non-use declarations and prescribed procedure, not mere absence of actual use.

The charging scheme under the Madhya Pradesh Motoryan Karadhan Adhiniyam, 1991 fastens motor vehicle tax on vehicles used or kept for use in the State, and the assessment and refund provisions operate through a prescribed statutory procedure. A vehicle's mere non-use does not itself defeat the levy or create an automatic right to refund; the taxpayer must comply with the notice, declaration and refund requirements under the Act and Rules, including prior intimation of non-use where required. The statutory machinery was held to be adequate for both assessment and refund, and the challenge to avoidance of tax without compliance failed.

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Issues: Whether the tax on motor vehicles plying under All-India Tourist permits under the Madhya Pradesh Motoryan Karadhan Adhiniyam, 1991 could be avoided or refunded merely because the vehicles were not actually used in the State, and whether the Act and Rules contained an adequate machinery for assessment and refund.

Analysis: Section 3 of the Act is the charging provision and fastens tax on every motor vehicle used or kept for use in the State. Section 8 provides the assessment procedure, and Section 14 provides refund where tax has been paid for a period during which the vehicle has not been used or has been altered, subject to prescribed conditions and prior written intimation of non-use. The Rules framed under the Act prescribe the procedure for claiming such refund. The statutory scheme proceeds on a presumption that a registered vehicle is used or kept for use in the State unless non-use is duly declared to the prescribed authority. Mere absence of actual use, without compliance with the prescribed notice and procedural requirements, does not by itself defeat the tax levy or create an automatic right to refund.

Conclusion: The Act and the Rules contained an adequate machinery for assessment and refund, and the appellants were not entitled to avoid tax or claim refund without compliance with the prescribed requirements. The challenge to the levy failed.

Final Conclusion: The statutory scheme was upheld, and the appeals and connected proceedings were dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: A tax on vehicles liable for use or kept for use in the State can be avoided or refunded only by compliance with the prescribed statutory declaration and refund procedure; actual non-use alone is insufficient.

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