Municipal tax assessment machinery read narrowly, and advertisement tax remained valid even before detailed bye-laws were framed.

The Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 was construed to treat section 133 as governing only the imposition of municipal tax, not the entire assessment and recovery machinery. The phrase "system of assessment" was read narrowly, so the resolution imposing the tax was not invalid for lacking detailed procedures later contemplated by bye-laws under section 427(3). The Court also held that advertisement tax was not inoperative before separate bye-laws were framed, because sections 173 to 175 already provided a quasi-judicial recovery mechanism through bill presentation, objections, notice of demand, and appeal. The petitions failed and the tax was upheld.

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Issues: (i) Whether the expression "system of assessment" in section 133 of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 required the resolution imposing the tax to contain the entire procedure for assessment and collection of the tax. (ii) Whether the tax on advertisements was inoperative until separate bye-laws for assessment and collection were framed under section 427(3) of the Act.

Issue (i): Whether the expression "system of assessment" in section 133 of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 required the resolution imposing the tax to contain the entire procedure for assessment and collection of the tax.

Analysis: Section 133 deals with the procedure for imposition of tax, while the detailed machinery for assessment, collection, remission, refund, and recovery is contemplated separately by the bye-laws made under section 427(3). The expression "system of assessment" was construed as referring to the stage of imposition of the tax, not to the whole machinery for recovery. The provision was treated as in pari materia with the corresponding provision considered by the Supreme Court, which supported the limited construction of that expression.

Conclusion: The resolution was not invalid for want of a detailed assessment and collection procedure, and the challenge on this ground failed.

Issue (ii): Whether the tax on advertisements was inoperative until separate bye-laws for assessment and collection were framed under section 427(3) of the Act.

Analysis: Even before separate bye-laws were made, sections 173 to 175 provided a quasi-judicial recovery mechanism through presentation of a bill, objection, notice of demand, and appeal. In the absence of separate assessment bye-laws, the bill could operate as a provisional assessment and objections could include challenges to assessment itself. The statutory procedure therefore supplied the necessary machinery and satisfied the constitutional requirement that tax be levied and collected by authority of law.

Conclusion: The tax was not inoperative before the framing of bye-laws, and the challenge was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The petitions failed because the impugned tax was validly imposed and the Act furnished sufficient machinery for assessment and recovery even before the bye-laws were framed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a municipal tax statute separately provides for imposition and for quasi-judicial recovery machinery, the expression "system of assessment" in the imposition provision is confined to the stage of levy, and the tax is not invalid merely because detailed assessment bye-laws have not yet been framed.

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