Legislative competence, the constitutional validity and the...

Legislative competence, the constitutional validity and the vires of the Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Act, 2023 - The court concluded that the levy of water cess on hydropower generation by the Himachal Pradesh government is essentially a tax on the generation of electricity, not merely on the use of water. This determination was based on the analysis that the cess varies with the quantum of electricity generated rather than the quantity of water drawn, indicating that the essence of the tax relates to electricity generation. Therefore, the Act was deemed beyond the legislative competence of the State, as it encroached upon the domain reserved for the Parliament under the Constitution, specifically under entries related to taxation and electricity in the Union List.