B.C.CHAKRABARTI - (1.) IDENTICAL questions of fact and law being involved in all these cases, they were heard together. All these cases have been received by transfer from the High Court. This judgment shall govern all of them. Mr. M. L. Bhattacharya argued on behalf of the applicants in RN-290 (T) of 1989 and RN-146 (T) of 1989 and Mr. Sumit Kumar Chakraborty adopted Mr. Bhattacharya's arguments in the remaining cases on behalf of the applicants.
(2.) THE substantial cases of the applicants in all these cases may be briefly put as follows : The Government of West Bengal enacted the West Bengal Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 1979, by which amongst others, a new provisions being section 6b and section 4aaa, were inserted in the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, and West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954, respectively with effect from April 1, 1979. The amended sections provide for payment of turnover tax by a dealer if the aggregate gross turnover exceeds Rs. 50 lakhs during any year. The applicants moved writ petitions under article 226 of the Constitution challenging the legality and validity of the imposition of turnover tax on the grounds that the imposition and collection of turnover tax violates articles 14, 19 and 300a of the Constitution of India. Eventually, rules issued in the said writ applications were discharged with certain directions. The applicants being aggrieved with the said orders, preferred appeals and a number of such appeals came up for hearing before a Division Bench and by an order dated February 24, 1988 [see Century Spinning Mfg. Co. v. State of West Bengal [1989] 73 STC 277 (Cal ). ] the appeals were dismissed. The imposition of turnover tax was found to be valid and not unconstitutional. The applicants' case it that they being dealers registered under the 1941 Act and the Central Act, are entitled to purchase goods at a concessional rate of tax provided they issued necessary declaration forms to their sellers. Such declaration forms are issued by respondent No. 1 provided all the conditions laid down in rule 27aa of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941, are complied with. Up to September, 1988, the declaration forms were being regularly issued. In September, 1988, respondent No. 1 refused to issue any further declaration forms unless the turnover tax due and payable by the applicants along with interest accrued thereon were paid. Representations made in that behalf by the applicants for issue of declaration forms were turned down. The plea of the applicants that no interest on turnover tax could be legally demanded, at least prior to disposal of the appeal on February 24, 1988, was also not accepted.
(3.) IN the present applications, the applicants contend that in view of the provisions of section 10a of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, which came into effect on October 1, 1983, no interest could be demanded from the applicants. Alternatively, it is their case that in any event, interest on turnover tax prior to February 24, 1988, could, in no case, be demanded. On such allegations the applicants prayed for a writ/or order/or direction, commanding the respondents not to demand interest on turnover tax during the period of injunction or to withhold the issue of declaration forms on that account. The applicants did not, however, challenge the competence of the State Legislature to enact section 10a, nor did they question the vires of the section on any other ground. They simply denied their liability to pay interest in the facts of the respective cases.;