1988 (4) TMI 428

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....not taken out from the State of Rajasthan to another State by the petitioner. The petitioner has challenged the validity of the provisions contained in section 22A of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and rules 61 to 63 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules"). The petitioner has also prayed that a suitable writ, order or direction may be issued directing the State of Rajasthan to bring into force the provisions of section 22B of the Act. Section 22A of the Act makes provision for establishment of check-posts or barriers and for inspection of goods while in transit. Rule 61 of the Rules makes provision with regard to empowering the officers who can exercise the ....

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.... the learned counsel for the petitioner, has urged that in the decisions referred to above the Supreme Court has failed to note that section 22B of the Act has not yet been brought into force and that if this fact had been noticed by the Supreme Court, they would not have affirmed the validity of section 22A as well as rules 61 to 63 and forms 18-A and 18-B of the Rules. It has also been urged by Shri Ratta that the aforesaid decisions of the Supreme Court are based on the earlier decision in Sodhi Transport Co. v. State of U.P. [1986] 62 STC 381; AIR 1986 SC 1099 and that in Sodhi Transport Co. case [1986] 62 STC 381; AIR 1986 SC 1099, the Supreme Court was dealing with the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act wherein section 28B ....

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.... fails to deliver a transit pass in respect of any goods referred to in the said section or is found to have suppressed or given false particulars of any consignment of goods in his *Reported in (1988) 25 STL 26 (Raj). application for issue of transit pass, a presumption is to be drawn that the said goods are liable to tax under the Act. While sub-section (1) of section 22B facilitates the passage of goods in transit by issuance of a transit pass to the carrier of the goods, sub-section (2) of section 22B operates against the carrier by providing for a presumption that the goods would be liable to tax in certain circumstances mentioned in that sub-section. The only effect of the non-application of section 22B is that transit passes are not ....

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....p all records at such check-post or barrier. The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the said provisions on the view that they are intended to set up machinery for preventing evasion of sales tax. The Supreme Court has struck down the provision contained in sub-section (3) of section 42 of the said Act because it provided for confiscation of the goods which were seized on the view that the power to confiscate goods could not be held to be ancillary or incidental to the power to legislate for levy of sales tax. The said decision can have no application to section 22A of the Act because section 22A does not provide for confiscation of the goods and it only provides for seizure of the goods which may be released on payment of penalty. In....