TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1961 (1) TMI 68
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....ounsel for the petitioners it may be necessary to refer to some of the provisions of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, with its amendment in 1956, as also the relevant Articles of the Constitution. Article 286 (3) of the Constitution prior to the sixth amendment in 1956, was as follows: "No law made by the Legislature of a State imposing, or authorising the imposition of, a tax on the sale or purchase of any such goods as have been declared by Parliament by law to be essential for the life of the community shall have effect unless it has been reserved for the consideration of the President and has received his assent." It would thus appear that although under item 54 of, the Second Schedule of the Constitution read with Article 246. the St....
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....ration of the application of its provisions in respect of essential commodities. This section lays down that the provision of the Act, so far as they relate to goods declared to be essential for the life of the community by the Essential Goods Act, 1952, shall remain in force till 31st day of March, 1956. After the above date the provisions of the Act could not operate on goods declared to be essential for the life of the community; and since these goods were essential, therefore, after 31st day of March, 1956, the provisions of the Act would not apply. In 1956, however, there was an amendment to this provision of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act. This was done by the Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1956 (Act No. V of 1956). Section 2 of th....
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....ax Act, 1954 (Rajasthan Act XXIX of 1954) as if the tax had been validly and lawfully assessed under and in accordance with the provisions of that Act." It may be stated that the Central Act to which a reference has been made in section 3 of this Validation Act means the Essential Goods (Declaration and Regulation of Tax on Sale or Purchase) Act, 1952. This Central Act was repealed with effect from 5th January, 1957. The dispute, therefore, lies in regard to taxation made on sale of the goods in question between 1st April, 1956 to 5th January, 1957. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the Validation Act will not save the amendment of 1956, which was without the assent of the President, because all that the V....
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....n the 31st March, 1956, there was no further authority left to levy taxes on those goods after that date. It would have been obviously so but for the fact that the Amending Act came into force in 1956. By virtue of this amendment we have to read, as if on the relevant date the figures "1956" were substituted by the figures "1957" and should be deemed always to have been so. In other words on the strength of section 28 read with the amendment the provisions of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, continued to operate in respect of essential goods till the 31st day of March, 1957, when the Essential Goods Act itself ceased to exist. The learned counsel, however, points out that this amendment was without the assent of the President and, ther....