Entry tax on goods entering railway areas remains chargeable; Article 285 and Railways Act protection do not bar the levy.

Entry tax under the Chhattisgarh Sthaniya Kshetra Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 applies when goods enter a local area for consumption, use or sale, and the mere fact that the goods are brought into a railway area does not by itself exclude the levy. Article 285 of the Constitution does not bar the tax because entry tax is an indirect levy on the entry of goods, not a direct tax on Union property. Section 184(1) of the Railways Act, 1989 was also held inapplicable for the same reason, as the charge falls on the dealer and the entry of goods. The challenge to the assessment therefore fails, subject to any other statutory remedy.

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Issues: (i) whether entry tax under the Chhattisgarh Sthaniya Kshetra Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 could be levied on goods brought into a railway area; (ii) whether Article 285 of the Constitution of India or Section 184(1) of the Railways Act, 1989 barred such levy.

Issue (i): whether entry tax under the Chhattisgarh Sthaniya Kshetra Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 could be levied on goods brought into a railway area.

Analysis: The taxable event under Section 3 of the Act of 1976 is the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale. The fact that the goods are brought into a railway area does not, by itself, exclude the levy when the statutory conditions for entry tax are otherwise satisfied.

Conclusion: The levy of entry tax is not excluded merely because the goods entered a railway area.

Issue (ii): whether Article 285 of the Constitution of India or Section 184(1) of the Railways Act, 1989 barred such levy.

Analysis: Article 285 protects the property of the Union from State taxation and is concerned with direct taxation on Union property. Entry tax is an indirect tax on the entry of goods into a local area and is not a tax directly imposed on Union property or income. Section 184(1) of the Railways Act, 1989 was also held inapplicable because the levy is on the dealer and on entry of goods, not on the railway administration, and the expression "any tax" in that provision is read in the context of Article 285.

Conclusion: Neither Article 285 nor Section 184(1) barred the levy.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the entry tax assessment failed, and the petitioners remained liable to the statutory levy, leaving any available alternative statutory remedy unaffected.

Ratio Decidendi: Entry tax on the entry of goods into a local area is an indirect tax and does not attract the constitutional exemption for Union property under Article 285, nor the protection of Section 184(1) of the Railways Act, 1989.

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