High Court Upholds Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act; Dismisses Challenges on Constitutional Grounds, Validates Differential Tax Rates.

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....The High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Chhattisgarh Sthaniya Kshetra me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 (Local Body Tax or Entry Tax Act), rejecting the challenge based on Articles 301, 304, and 14 of the Constitution. The Court held that the Act and notification prescribing higher rates on imported goods were not discriminatory under Article 304(a), as the power to impose differential tax rates is a plenary power of the State. The Court relied on the Supreme Court's judgment in Jindal's case, which held that a taxing statute's validity is to be tested only on the anvil of Article 304(a), without the need for public interest or reasonableness scrutiny under Article 304(b). The petitioners failed to establish that th.........