SUKNDEV SINGH KANG, J. - (1.) The petroleum products are brought within the municipal limits of respondent No. 1 for use or consumption by itself or for sale jointly to its dealers and licensees who, in their turn, sell these to others. The petitioner in the normal course of its business operations appoints dealers and licensees for the sale of its petroleum products and supplies these products on certain stipulated terms and conditions. According to the petitioner, the goods brought by it within the territorial limits of respondent No. 1 can be divided into four separate categories:- (i) Goods consumed by the petitioner-Corporation; (ii) Goods sold by the petitioner-Corporation through its dealers or by itself and consumed within the octroi limits by persons other than the petitioner-Corporation; (iii) Goods sold by the petitioner-Corporation through its dealers or by itself inside the octroi limits to other persons who consumed them outside the octroi limits; and (iv) Goods sent by the petitioner-Corporation from its depot inside the octroi limits to extra municipal limits to its dealers where they are bought and consumed by persons other than the petitioner.
(2.) Respondent No. 1 made a demand by sending Octroi Bills on the petitioner-Corporation for the period from September 7; 1983 till May, 1984. There was some misunderstanding at the Jalandhar office of the petitioner-Corporation inasmuch as the said office had taken the position that the goods supplied to dealers outside the municipal limits of respondent No. 1 were exempt from Octroi Duty irrespective of the fact whether the sale took place within or outside the municipal limits. On clarification, the Jalandhar office of the petitioner-Corporation had been advised to make payment of Octroi on the goods sold to dealers outside the municipal limits of respondent No. 1 when the sale had taken place within the municipal limits. Respondent No. 1, vide its letter dated May 9, 1984, had also served a notice upon the petitioner-Corporation to pay Octroi to the tune of Rs. 40,26,230.17 within thirty days of the receipt of the said notice.
(3.) The petitioner-Corporation challenged these notices through the present writ petition. Notice of motion was issued to the respondents. The respondents filed the written statement. The Motion Bench admitted the writ petition to be heard by a Division Bench and vacated the stay order earlier granted on certain terms. The Bench also permitted the petitioner-Corporation to file appeals within one month. The petitioner filed appeals and the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, vide impugned order Annexure-P-6, dismissed the appeals. Consequently, the petitioner-Corporation has amended the writ petition and has impugned the appellate order also.;