- (1.) The short question involved in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is as to whether the petitioner-company is liable to pay market fee on the barley brought by it within the area of the respondent market committee for the purpose of preparing barley malt.
(2.) The petitioner which is a private limited company is engaged in the manufacture of malt and the barley used for its manufacture is purchased by it in the mandis situate outside the notified area of the respondent market committee. It is admitted between the parties that no transaction of sale or purchase of barley is done by the petitioner in the area of the respondent market committee.
(3.) The dispute between the parties centres round the interpretation of the provisions of Section 23 of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 as it stood after its amendment in the year 1973. The relevant portion of Section 23 initially reads as under :- "A Committee may, subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf, levy on ad valorem basis fees on the agricultural produce brought or sold by licensees in the notified market area at a rate not exceeding fifty naya Paise for every one hundred rupees." By Act No. 21 of 1973, after the word "sold", the words 'or brought for processing' were added in the said Section. These words were again omitted by Acts 5 of 1976 enforced with effect from February 11, 1976.;