TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1987 (10) TMI 328
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....ecial leave. Two of them being Civil Appeals Nos. 2255 and 2256 of 1979 are by the Municipal Board of Abu Road. The rest of the appeals are by assessees living within the municipal area of Sujangarh. The common question involved in these appeals is as to whether the levy of octroi by different municipalities within the State of Rajasthan on varying bases-some on weight of the material and others on the ad valorem basis of the price thereof at varying rates is valid in law. The High Court decided against the Abu Road Municipality while a different Bench of that Court in the cases of Sujangarh Municipality decided in its favour on the same question. Entry 52 of List II of the Seventh Schedule read with article 246(3) of the Constitution auth....
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....cribed octroi duty on cloth at the rate of 1.9 annas per cent ad valorem and the rate continued till it was varied after promulgation of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act of 1959, the rates in cities like Jaipur were on the basis of weight. Judicial notice can be taken of the fact that the areas which now constitute the State of Rajasthan prior to independence of India were independent States of different dimensions and the local conditions and needs of the people inhabiting those areas considerably varied. There were 13 different Acts then in vogue governing the municipalities within that State. The Rajasthan Municipalities Act was, therefore, introduced to consolidate and amend the law relating to municipalities in that State. In February,....
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....urt challenging the levy. It was contended, inter alia, that there was unreasonable discrimination between the citizens and traders of cloth within Sujangarh Municipal area on the one hand and those of Jodhpur, Jaipur and other named towns on the other, as by authorising levy of octroi at different rates and on different basis discrimination resulted. Reliance was placed on the decision in the Abu Road Municipal cases but the single judge as also the Division Bench did not entertain the challenge by relying upon the amended provision of section 104 of the Act. That is how that group of appeals too has come before this Court by special leave. There is no dispute as to exigibility of octroi. Every municipality under the Act is a body corpora....
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....been prescribed to encourage larger import. In smaller municipalities where the import is for direct consumption the levy is on ad valorem basis at a higher rate. The State Government seems to have also taken into consideration that smaller municipalities there is not much of demand for costly and fine clothes which have higher price while the position is otherwise in bigger municipal areas. This appears to be the justification for adopting the weight basis in respect of larger municipalities and ad valorem basis for the smaller municipalities. This again seems to be a legitimate basis and we do not think any valid objection is available against this differential treatment. Law is well-settled that if unequals are treated unequally there is....