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1978 (12) TMI 191

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....e or sale to the factory during such season exceeded 10 lakh maunds". The appellants challenged the validity of the imposition, and the High Court, on August 31, 1961, held that the notification was illegal as the imposition of the levy was with reference to particular premises. A similar view was taken in regard to the Acts in some other States and Parliament thereupon enacted the Sugarcane Cess (Validation) Act, 1961, hereinafter referred to as the Validation Act, which came into force on December 26, 1961. Section 3 of the Validation Act was taken to validate the imposition and collection of the cess under the State Act. The Manager of the appellant company received an intimation from the Additional Collector of Sehore dated April 13/15, 1964, stating that a sum of ₹ 5,49,262.92 was due from it on account of cess for the period "1959-60 to December 25, 1961" and asking for a bank guarantee for payment of the balance. The appellant wrote back saying that the amount of the cane cess worked out to ₹ 5,44,835.69 and not ₹ 5,49,262.92, and that as the collector had not assessed the amount of the cess in accordance with the rules, it was not payable by....

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.... of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, (when the area is a part of the State imposing the law) is an area administered by a local body like a municipality, a district board, a local board, a union board, a panchayat or the like". It has been clearly laid down that the premises of a factory are therefore not a "local area". This court accordingly struck down Section 3 of the U.P. Act empowering the Governor to impose a cess on the entry of sugarcane into the premises of the factory on the ground that it did not fall within Entry 52 of the State List and there was no other Entry in the State List or the Concurrent List in which the Act could fall. It is therefore futile for the appellant to contend that Section 23 of the State Act was not ultra-vires the Constitution or that it can be upheld on such a construction of the words "an area" in Section 23 as to restrict it to mean a "local area". 6. The decision in Diamond Sugar Mills case came up for consideration in this Court in Jaora Sugar Mills (P) Ltd. v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors. [1966]1SCR523 with a specific reference to the provisions of the State Act, and it was once again held, ....

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....nner provided under that Act. (2) For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that nothing in Sub-section (1) shall be construed as preventing any person- (a) from questioning in accordance with the provisions of any State Act and rules made thereunder the assessment of any cess for any period; or (b) from claiming refund of any cess paid by him in excess of the amount due from him under any State Act and the rules made thereunder. The section thus specifically validates the notification in question in regard, inter alia, to the imposition of the cess. The mandamus which was issued by the High Court on August 31, 1961, could not therefore avail the appellant thereafter. 9. It has lastly been argued by Mr. Desai that when a law provides for the assessment of a cess or tax, it is necessary that it should be done by a specific order to that effect, and that an order of assessment cannot be presumed when it has not really been made. It has therefore been argued that as an order of assessment was not made in the present case, it could not be presumed or deemed to have been made simply because a demand was raised for the purpose of affecting the recovery of the cess from the ....

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....ade with the returns submitted by the occupier, and the Collector has to see that the full amount of the cess has been credited to the treasury. If he finds that this is not so, it is his duty to call upon the occupier, by a written notice, to deposit the amount due from him within the period specified in the notice. 11. The State Act and the Rules do not therefore require that the Collector shall make a formal order of assessment, and then collect the cess. 12. It has to be appreciated that the purpose of an assessment is to compute the amount of the cess payable by the person concerned. "Assess" is a comprehensive word, and in a taxing statute it often means the computation of the income of the assessee, the determination of the tax payable by him, and the procedure for collecting or recovering the tax. In a case where there is a dispute about the identity of the assessee, the order of assessment serves the purpose of establishing that identity and naming the person from whom the tax has to be recovered. In the present case there is no controversy regarding the identity of the assessee, and the provision regarding the assessment of the cess in Sub-section (2) of Secti....