TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (7) TMI 1751
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....ional Solicitor General Of India A/W Sri Aravind V. Chavan, Senior Standing Counsel). CAV ORDER Conglomeration of these cases raise a solitary challenge viz., the constitutional validity of the Health Security se National Security Cess Act, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short), a legislation enacted by the Parliament to provide for levy and collection of cess for specific and identified purposes. The ancillary challenge is to the Rules so notified viz., Health Security se National Security Cess Rules, 2026 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules' for short). A further challenge is raised to notifications issued, in furtherance of the Act and the Rules. A common ground of challenge is that they are ultra vires to the provisions of the Constitution of India. 2. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows: - 2.1. The petitioners, in all these cases, are business entities, engaged in the manufacture and supply of Pan Masala, falling under Customs Tariff Item No.2106 90 20. The processed Pan Masala is packed in pouches by using pouch packing machines and sold by these entities at Retail Sales Price. Prior to the enactment of the impugned Act and Rules, the taxati....
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....of the GST Council. Consequently, upon coming into force of the CGST and IGST Acts, a tax was levied on goods falling under the Customs Tariff Heading 2106 90 20 (i.e. Pan Masala) in terms of Schedule IV of the notifications dated 28-06-2017, which provide for the rate of levy of Integrated and Central Taxes. In terms of the said notification, Pan Masala was subject to Integrated Tax, at the rate of 28%. 2.4. When things stood thus, in the year 2025, the Parliament enacts the impugned Act for the purpose of augmenting resources to meet expenditure on national security and public health, by levying a cess on the machines installed or other processes are undertaken, by which goods specified under the Act are manufactured or produced. The Act comes into force on 01-02-2026, in terms of the impugned Notification dated 31-12-2025. Thereafter, another impugned Notification is issued on 01-02-2026, notifying the impugned Rules, which are enacted in furtherance of the Act. The impugned Rules bring about the procedure for declaration, quantification, collection and payment of cess. On notification of the impugned Act and the Rules, the petitioners/manufacturers and distributors of Pan Ma....
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....ct is a constitutionally valid, lawfully enacted piece of fiscal legislation supported by the Parliament's plenary legislative power. It is enacted in public interest and is directed at regulating a sector notorious for tax evasion and has adverse public health consequences. The learned Additional Solicitor General would submit that, Pan Masala is a commodity that stands in a class of its own, as it has severe adverse public health consequences and is one of the most evasion-prone commodity sectors in India. Therefore, the twin imperatives, public health and revenue protection, form the constitutional and policy foundation of the impugned Act. Therefore, the Government addressing the evasion through Pan Masala Packing Machines has enacted the impugned enactment and the Rules. 5.2. The learned Additional Solicitor General submits that, after the introduction of GST in 2017, Pan Masala was brought under GST Compensation Cess at ad-valorem rates. Despite high applicable tax rates, revenue collected from the Pan Masala sector had consistently fallen far below the reasonable estimates of the sector's productive capacity, which was clearly indicative of large-scale continuing evasion.....
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....uld vehemently refute the submissions of the learned Additional Solicitor General by contending that, it is unheard of that, to plug leakage or a tax evasion in a particular sector, an Act is promulgated. It cannot be that to plug leakage in one enactment, another enactment should be brought in, notwithstanding it being taxed in those regimes. The learned senior counsel submits that the effect of such taxation can be tabulated, and it is not that the petitioners are not being taxed. They are now taxed under two regimes, by the surcharge and by the GST, now totaling to the tune of 48%. Therefore, it cannot be said that the machines that they possess could become the subject matter of cess. On these grounds, he would seek the prayers that are sought in the petitions. 7. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record. In furtherance whereof, the issue that falls for consideration is, "Whether the impugned Act and the Rules or the Notifications made in furtherance of the impugned Act and the Rules would fall foul of certain tenets of the Constitution of India?" CONSIDERATION: 8. T....
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....rliament has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or State List. (2) Such power shall include the power of making any law imposing a tax not mentioned in either of those Lists. .... .... .... 254. Inconsistency between laws made by Parliament and laws made by the Legislatures of States.- (1) If any provision of a law made by the Legislature of a State is repugnant to any provision of a law made by Parliament which Parliament is competent to enact, or to any provision of an existing law with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List, then, subject to the provisions of clause (2), the law made by Parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by the Legislature of such State, or, as the case may be, the existing law, shall prevail and the law made by the Legislature of the State shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be void. (2) Where a law made by the Legislature of a State with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List contains any provision repugnant to the provisions of an earlier law made by Parliament or an existing law ....
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.... shall be deemed to be supply of goods, or of services, or both in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. (2) The amount apportioned to a State under clause (1) shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India. (3) Where an amount collected as tax levied under clause (1) has been used for payment of the tax levied by a State under Article 246-A, such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India. (4) Where an amount collected as tax levied by a State under Article 246-A has been used for payment of the tax levied under clause (1), such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of the State. (5) Parliament may, by law, formulate the principles for determining the place of supply, and when a supply of goods, or of services, or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. 270. Taxes levied and distributed between the Union and the States.-(1) All taxes and duties referred to in the Union List, except the duties and taxes referred to in Articles 268, 269 and 269-A, respectively, surcharge on taxes and duties referred to in Article 271 and any cess levied for specific purposes under any ....
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.... Member; (c) the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government ... Members. (3) The Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council referred to in sub-clause (c) of clause (2) shall, as soon as may be, choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council for such period as they may decide. (4) The Goods and Services Tax Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the States on- (a) the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax; (b) the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from the goods and services tax; (c) model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce under Article 269-A and the principles that govern the place of supply; (d) the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from goods and services tax; (e) the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax; ....
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....tion, whereby indirect taxes, Central and State taxes, surcharges and cesses, so far as they relate to the supply of goods and services to be brought under one regime, the Goods and Services Tax. The aforesaid bill was passed in the Parliament and the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 comes into force with effect from 16-09-2016, whereby the afore-quoted Article 246A was inserted, empowering the Parliament and the Legislatures of every State, subject to Clause-2 therein, to make laws with respect to goods and services tax imposed by the Union or by the States. 10. By the same Amendment comes Article 279A supra, which provides for constitution of a Council called the Goods and Services Tax Council, with the specific constitutional duty of making recommendations to the Union or the State Governments with respect to taxes, cesses, surcharges levied by the Union or the State Governments. 11. Article 269A which also comes to be inserted was with regard to appropriation of tax so collected. In furtherance of the constitutional amendment, the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 comes into effect from 01-07-2017. Certain provisions of the CGST Act are necessar....
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....ided that where an electronic commerce operator does not have a physical presence in the taxable territory, any person representing such electronic commerce operator for any purpose in the taxable territory shall be liable to pay tax: Provided further that where an electronic commerce operator does not have a physical presence in the taxable territory and also he does not have a representative in the said territory, such electronic commerce operator shall appoint a person in the taxable territory for the purpose of paying tax and such person shall be liable to pay tax. ... ... ... 11. Power to grant exemption from tax.-(1) Where the Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, exempt generally, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, goods or services or both of any specified description from the whole or any part of the tax leviable thereon with effect from such date as may be specified in such notification. (2) Where the Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, on the ....
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.... to the Act read as follows: "2. Definitions.-In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- ... ... ... (e) "cess" means the Health Security se National Security Cess levied under Section 4; ... ... ... (g) "machine" for the purposes of manufacture or production of the specified goods includes all types of Form, Fill and Seal Machines and Profile Pouch Making Machines, by whatever name called, whether vertical or horizontal, with or without collar, single track or multi-track, and any other type of packing machine used for packing of the specified goods in pouches, tins or other containers; (h) "manufacture" includes- (i) any process incidental or ancillary to the completion of the specified goods; and (ii) the process of packing or repacking of such goods in a pouch or tin or other container or labelling or re-labelling thereof including the declaration or alteration of retail sale price on it or adoption of any other treatment on the goods to render the specified goods marketable to the consumer, whether or not such process is the only process undertaken; ... ... ... (j) "pan masala" ....
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....e time being in force. (3) If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification, exempt any taxable person or a class of taxable persons, unconditionally or subject to such conditions, from the whole or any part of the cess leviable under this section for such period as may be specified in the said notification. 5. Manner of computation of cess.-(1) The cess referred to in Section 4 shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of this section based on the relevant process, speed of the machine or capacity of other processes and the weight of the specified goods packed in pouch, tin or other container, as the case may be, as declared by the taxable person and, where applicable, as verified or calibrated by the proper officer under Section 9, and on the amount specified in Schedule II for such combination of process, speed or capacity and weight. (2) Where the specified goods are manufactured or produced wholly or partly with the aid of a machine, the cess shall be levied and collected from the taxable person- (a) with reference to the maximum rated speed of the machine measured....
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....ney of the cess for the purposes specified in sub-section (1), as it may consider necessary. (3) For the purposes of utilisation of the cess, the Central Government may specify such activities, schemes and programmes for national security or, as the case may be, for public health, as may be prescribed. ... ... ... 9. Declaration to be filed by taxable person.-(1) Every taxable person shall, in respect of machine installed or process undertaken in such factory, furnish a self-declaration in such form, manner and within such time, as may be prescribed, containing the particulars of the machines installed or processes undertaken for the manufacture or production of the specified goods, together with the parameters relevant for computation of the cess, including the maximum rated speed, weight of packing, nature of packing and such other technical or operational particulars, as may be prescribed. (2) Where any parameter relevant for the computation of the cess undergoes any change, the taxable person shall furnish a fresh self-declaration under sub-section (1) within such time, form and manner, as may be prescribed. (3) In case of installati....
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....1 to 1000 Up to 2.5 grams 202.00 Above 2.5 grams but up to 10 grams 728.00 Above 10 grams 1698.00 3. 1001 to 1500 Up to 2.5 grams 303.00 Above 2.5 grams but up to 10 grams 1092.00 Above 10 grams 2547 4. Above 1500 Up to 2.5 grams 101 x S/450 Above 2.5 grams but up to 10 grams 364 x S/450 Above 10 grams 849 x S/450 ... ... ... Notes.-(1) For the purposes of this Schedule, in Table 1 in column (4) of the table above, the term "S" represents maximum rated capacity of a machine. (2) For the purposes of this Schedule, where a packing machine contains multiple tracks or multiple packing lines and, in addition to packing the specified goods in pouches, performs any supplementary processes such as moulding, shaping or otherwise giving a definite form to the pouches for brand distinction or for prevention of counterfeiting, two such tracks or lines shall be deemed to constitute one individual packing machine for the purpose of calculating the cess liability. (3) The number of packing machines to be taken into account for computation of the cess specified in....
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....S DEC-01 on the Portal within seven days of the grant of registration. (2) In case of any change in the parameters relevant for the computation of cess, or in case of installation, addition or commencement of any machine or process, the registered person shall file a fresh declaration within fifteen days of such change. ... ... ... 11. Confirmation of declaration.-(1) In case no discrepancy is found in the declaration filed under Rule 9, the proper officer shall pass an order within a period of fifteen days from the date of verification under Rule 10, confirming the declaration and determining the computation of the cess payable in accordance with Sections 5 and 9 of the Act. (2) Where the proper officer finds any discrepancy in the declaration furnished under Rule 9 that affects the computation of cess payable by the registered person, he shall intimate such discrepancy to the registered person and shall pass an order confirming the computation of the cess payable under Sections 5 and 9 of the Act within a period not later than thirty days from the date of verification under Rule 10, after giving the registered person a reasonable opportunity of....
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.... the specified goods is undertaken on the said machine or by the manual process unit, as the case may be, during the period of sealing. (2) Any registered person eligible for abatement under sub-rule (1), shall claim such abatement by submitting an application to the proper officer on or before the 20th day of the month succeeding the period for which the abatement is claimed. (3) The proper officer shall, upon verification of the claim submitted under sub-rule (2), issue an order, within fifteen days of the submission of such application, allowing the abatement of the cess liability for each month covered by the period of non-operation of the machines or manual unit, which shall be adjusted against the cess liability payable for the month immediately following the month in which such order is issued: Provided that no order rejecting the claim of abatement, either in whole or in part, shall be passed unless the registered person has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Explanation.- For the purposes of this rule, "installed machine" refers to an operational machine that has become nonoperative during the period of abatement. ....
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....(100+40) g-e*f h=e+g i=e*d 1 WP/3157/2026 65 31,200 7,80,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 8,91,429 1,09,91,429 31,20,000 2 WP/100657/2026 96 46,080 11,52,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 13,16,571 1,14,16,571 46,08,000 3 WP/100657/2026 106 50,880 12,72,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 14,53,714 1,15,53,714 50,88,000 4 WP/100634/2026 WP/100636/2026 150 72,000 18,00,000 4 1.01,00,000 1.14 20,57,143 1,21,57,143 72,00,000 5 WP/100637/2026 182 87,360 21,84,000 4 1.01,00,000 1.14 24,96,000 1,25,96,000 87,36,000 6 WP/100637/2026 224 1,07,520 26,88,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 30,72,000 1,31,72,000 1,07,52,000 7 WP/3157/2026 250 1,20,000 30,00,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 34,28,571 1,35,28,571 1,20,00,000 8 300 1,44,000 36,00,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 41,14,286 1,42,14,286 1,44,00,000 9 400 1,92,000 48,00,000 4 1,01,00,000 1.14 54,85,714 1,55,85,714 1,92,00,000 10 500 2,40,000 60,00,000 ....
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.... settled principle of law that arbitrariness, as obtaining under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, is attracted, as the Act imposes a restriction by demanding cess on the deemed production and not on actual production. If one has a machinery that can produce 500 pouches per minute, it is the same cess even if the said machine produces 250 pouches per minute. Further, even if the machinery produces 100 pouches per minute it is the same cess, as Schedule II of the Act clearly indicates that all the manufacturers who produce up to 500 pouches per minute are required to pay similar duty. This would clearly mean that, a manufacturer of Pan Masala having installed a machine which is capable of producing 100 pouches per minute and a manufacturer who has installed a machine capacity of producing 500 pouches per minute are required to discharge payment of the same cess. Therefore, there is no rationale in imposition of cess in the said manner. The petitioners have installed certain machinery. For illustration purposes, the details and production capacities of the petitioners in the five batches of writ petitions are as under: Sl.No. Writ Petition No. Petitioner Maximum Ca....
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....ed by Article 13(2) is that the legislature shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the equality clause in Article 14, which enjoins the State not to deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws of the country. It cannot be disputed that if the Act infringes the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution, it must be struck down as unconstitutional. For the purpose of these cases, we shall assume that the State Legislature had the necessary competence to enact the law, though the petitioners have seriously challenged such a competence. The guarantee of equal protection of the laws must extend even to taxing statutes. It has not been contended otherwise. It does not mean that every person should be taxed equally. But it does mean that if property of the same character has to be taxed, the taxation must be by the same standard, so that the burden of taxation may fall equally on all persons holding that kind and extent of property. If the taxation, generally speaking, imposes a similar burden on everyone with reference to that particular kind and extent of property, on the same basis of taxation, the law shall not be open to attack on the....
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....ake a hypothetical case of a number of persons owning and possessing the same area of land. One makes nothing out of the land, because it is arid desert. The second one does not make any income, but could raise some crop after a disproportionately large investment of labour and capital. A third one, in due course of husbandry, is making the land yield just enough to pay for the incidental expenses and labour charges besides land tax or revenue. The fourth is making large profits, because the land is very fertile and capable of yielding good crops. Under the Act, it is manifest that the fourth category, in our illustration, would easily be able to bear the burden of the tax. The third one may be able to bear the tax. The first and the second one will have to pay from their own pockets, if they could afford the tax. If they cannot afford the tax, the property is liable to be sold, in due process of law, for realisation of the public demand. It is clear, therefore, that inequality is writ large on the Act and is inherent in the very provisions of the taxing section. It is also clear that there is no attempt at classification in the provisions of the Act. Hence, no more need be said as....
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....99 of the Report). The observations quoted above from the unanimous judgment of this Court apply with full force to the provisions of the Act. It has, therefore, to be struck down as unconstitutional. There is no question of severability arising in this case, because both the charging sections, Section 4 and Section 7, authorising the Government to grant exemptions from the provisions of the Act, are the main provisions of the Statute, which has to be declared unconstitutional. 9. The provisions of the Act are unconstitutional viewed from the angle of the provisions of Article 19(1)(f) of the Constitution, also. Apart from the provisions of Sections 4 and 7 discussed above, with reference to the test under Article 14 of the Constitution, we find that Section 5-A is also equally objectionable because it imposes unreasonable restrictions on the rights to hold property, safeguarded by Article 19(1)(f) of the Constitution. Section 5-A declares that the Government is competent to make a provisional assessment of the basic tax payable by the holder of unsurveyed land. Ordinarily, a taxing statute lays down a regular machinery for making assessment of the tax proposed to....
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....nded by this Court in determining whether there has been denial of equal protection of the laws are also well settled : see Shri Ram Krishna Dalmia v. Shri Justice S.R. Tendolkar [(1959) SCS 279]. It is true that in the application of the principles, the Courts, in view of the inherent complexity of fiscal legislation admit a larger discretion to the Legislature in the matter of classification, so long as it adheres to the fundamental principles underlying the doctrine of equality. The power of the Legislature to classify is, it is said, of "wide range and flexibility" so that it can adjust its system of taxation in all proper and reasonable ways: Khandige Sham Bhat v. Agricultural Income Tax Officer [(1963) 3 SCR 809]. 5. But in enacting the Kerala Buildings Tax Act no attempt at any rational classification is made by the Legislature. As already observed, the Legislature has not taken into consideration in imposing tax the class to which a building belongs, the nature of construction, the purpose for which it is used, its situation, its capacity for profitable user and other relevant circumstances which have a bearing on matters of taxation. They have adopted merely the f....
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....hat date may not violate Article 14 of the Constitution." The Apex Court holds that when tax on dissimilar transactions or persons are imposed with a uniform tax rate, the same would result in discrimination and such imposition would be in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. 19.3. A nine Judges Bench of the Apex Court reiterates the above position of law in the case of JINDAL STAINLESS STEEL LIMITED v. STAE OF HARYANA (2017) 12 SCC 1, and holds as follows: ".... .... .... 122. We may at this stage deal with yet another contention urged on behalf of the assessees who argued that while Article 304(a) forbids discriminatory fiscal legislation in respect of goods coming from another state there was no provision which prevented the States from levying discriminatory taxes within its territorial limits. The argument was that the absence of any provision against discriminatory taxation within a State must be understood to mean that taxes would generally be restrictions and unless the States take recourse to Article 304(b) they cannot levy such taxes upon trade and commerce within their territorial limits. The argument is, in our view, more in desp....
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.... offending against the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. 17. Instances of taxation statutes being struck down on substantive grounds which had alleged discrimination can be found in the five-Judge decision of this Court in Kunnathat Thatehunni Moopil Nair v. State of Kerala [Kunnathat Thatehunni Moopil Nair v. State of Kerala, (1961) 3 SCR 77 : AIR 1961 SC 552], in which a uniform tax called "basic tax" levied under the provisions of the Travancore Cochin Land Tax Act, 1955 was held to be discriminatory as it treated unequals equally. The Court held : (SCR pp. 91-92 : AIR p. 558, para 8) "8. ... Ordinarily, a tax on land or land revenue is assessed on the actual or the potential productivity of the land sought to be taxed. In other words, the tax has reference to the income actually made, or which could have been made, with due diligence, and, therefore, is levied with due regard to the incidence of the taxation. Under the Act in question we shall take a hypothetical case of a number of persons owning and possessing the same area of land. One makes nothing out of the land, because it is arid desert. The second one does not make any income, but....
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....d on any of the grounds available for challenge against plenary legislation. This being the case, there is no rational distinction between the two types of legislation when it comes to this ground of challenge under Article 14. The test of manifest arbitrariness, therefore, as laid down in the aforesaid judgments would apply to invalidate legislation as well as subordinate legislation under Article 14. Manifest arbitrariness, therefore, must be something done by the legislature capriciously, irrationally and/or without adequate determining principle. Also, when something is done which is excessive and disproportionate, such legislation would be manifestly arbitrary. We are, therefore, of the view that arbitrariness in the sense of manifest arbitrariness as pointed out by us above would apply to negate legislation as well under Article 14." 20. Judged by both these parameters, there can be no doubt that the third proviso to Section 254(2-A) of the Income Tax Act, introduced by the Finance Act, 2008, would be both arbitrary and discriminatory and, therefore, liable to be struck down as offending Article 14 of the Constitution of India. First and foremost, as has correctly be....
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....legislation in question. In this connection it must be borne in mind that the object itself should be lawful. The object itself cannot be discriminatory, for otherwise, for instance, if the object is to discriminate against one section of the minority the discrimination cannot be justified on the ground that there is a reasonable classification because it has rational relation to the object sought to be achieved." 22. Since the object of the third proviso to Section 254(2-A) of the Income Tax Act is the automatic vacation of a stay that has been granted on the completion of 365 days, whether or not the assessee is responsible for the delay caused in hearing the appeal, such object being itself discriminatory, in the sense pointed out above, is liable to be struck down as violating Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Also, the said proviso would result in the automatic vacation of a stay upon the expiry of 365 days even if the Appellate Tribunal could not take up the appeal in time for no fault of the assessee. Further, vacation of stay in favour of the Revenue would ensue even if the Revenue is itself responsible for the delay in hearing the appeal. In this sense, the....
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...., such a rider to approach the Tribunal at the first instance of proceedings, captioned as appeal, renders the remedy illusory and nugatory. 61. In Seth Nand Lal [Seth Nand Lal v. State of Haryana, 1980 Supp SCC 574] while considering the question of validity of pre-deposit before availing the right of appeal the Court held : (SCC p. 590, para 22) '[R]ight of appeal is a creature of the statute and while granting the right the legislature can impose conditions for the exercise of such right so long as the conditions are not so onerous as to amount to unreasonable restrictions rendering the right almost illusory.' " (emphasis in original and supplied) This Court ultimately struck down Section 17(2) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as "the SARFAESI Act") holding that in the circumstances mentioned, the deposit of 75% of the amount claimed as a precondition to the hearing of an "appeal" before the Debt Recovery Tribunal under Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act was onerous, oppressive, unreasonable, arbitrary and hence violative of Article 14 of the Consti....
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....citor General has contended that the production capacity and the documents placed before the Court by the petitioners are all prior to 01-02-2026 i.e., the date on which the Rules under the impugned Act came into force and that the machineries of all the persons are now changed and the sale of machineries below 500 capacity is not even available in the market. The said submission is only in justification of the Act. The subsequent sale of machines on the increased capacity and purchase of new machines with higher capacity, by some of the petitioners, cannot be viewed as a ground to levy cess, as every machinery will have to come under scrutiny. Therefore, the Act ought to have been drawn on some other rationale and not from the fact that machines have to produce 500 pouches per minute. Therefore, the justification of the revenue in the considered view of the Court is unacceptable. 22. The petitioners have strenuously contended that the Parliament lacks the legislative competence to enact the impugned Act and the Rules. Several submissions are also made by the learned Additional Solicitor General that the impugned cess is not a GST. Article 246A of the Constitution provides for t....