- (1.) All these criminal appeals are filed by Municipal Corporation of City of Thane ('Corporation' for short) against M/s Vidyut Metallics Ltd.- respondent No. 1 aggrieved by the order dated June 14, 2001 passed by a Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Criminal Writ Petition Nos. 593, 594, 595 & 596 of 1996. By the said order, the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petitions filed by the Corporation and confirmed the order passed by the VIth Additional District & Sessions Judge, Thane holding that the respondent No. 1 herein was not liable to pay octroi at the rate of 1%, but only at the rate of 0.5%.
(2.) Short facts giving rise to the present appeals are that the respondent No.1 is a Company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 having its registered office and factory at Bombay-Agra Road, Wagle Estate, Thane. The Company is engaged in the process of manufacturing safety razor blades of various qualities and types. For the said purpose, the Company was importing stainless steel strips and bringing them to its factory within the octroi limits of the Corporation. According to the Corporation, since 1968, the Company had been importing stainless steel strips to its factory and it was paying octroi at the rate of 1% under Item No. 77 of the Schedule to the Maharashtra Municipalities (Octroi) Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules'). The Company was also maintaining a current account with the Corporation under Section 142 of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').
(3.) It is the case of the Corporation that in the year 1974, a sudden turn was taken by the Company. It obtained a copy of the Rules and found that it was paying octroi at an enhanced rate of 1% though it was liable to pay such octroi at the rate of 0.5% only. It, therefore, stopped paying octroi at the rate of 1% as provided in Item 77 of the Schedule and started to pay at the rate of 0.5% as provided under Item 71 of the Schedule. According to the Corporation, the said action was totally illegal, unlawful and inconsistent with the provisions of the Rules. From October 1, 1974 to March 31, 1979, the Company paid octroi at the rate of 0.5% instead of 1%. The Corporation, hence, wrote a letter on May 10, 1978 to the respondent-Company stating therein that the Company was liable to pay octroi at the rate of 1% under Item 77 and not at the rate of 0.5% under Item 71 of the Schedule. The Company was also called upon to pay the remaining amount within a period of 15 days or to show cause as to why the Company should not be made liable to pay the amount in accordance with law and in accordance with provisions of Section 169 of the Act. The respondent-Company replied to the said letter contending that the Company was liable to pay only at the rate of 0.5% under Item 71 and had been correctly paying octroi and no action could be taken against it.;