- (1.) Petitioner-Cantonment Board has invoked writ jurisdiction of this Court assailing the decision of the Government dated 24.01.1991, whereby reimbursement of additional excise duty levied in lieu of octroi to the Cantonment Board, Jalandhar was limited to the actual consumption of liquor in the area of Cantonment Board and remitting the balance amount to the corpus of Punjab Amalgamated Fund was directed; further seeking mandamus directing the respondents to release/reimburse the entire additional excise duty collected by the respondents in lieu of the octroi on liquor within the area of Jalandhar Cantt. , as per the arrangement between the Punjab Government and Cantonment Board. Brief facts, inter alia, are that earlier Cantonment Board, Jalandhar was charging octroi on liquor being brought within the territory of the Cantonment Board like other municipalities were charging within the State of Punjab; Punjab Government vide notification dated 30.03.1982 had abolished octroi on country liquor, Indian made foreign liquor and beer imported into the limits of Municipal Corporations/Committees and notified Area Committees situated in the State of Punjab w. e. f. 01.04.1982; State of Punjab to compensate the local bodies had levied additional excise duty on the liquor at source with the direction to reimburse such additional excise duty to the local bodies in lieu of abolition of octroi; petitioner-Cantonment Board vide resolution dated 12.10.1982 had also resolved to abolish the octroi on the liquor being imported within the territory of Cantonment Board and to request the State Government to reimburse the additional excise duty in lieu of abolition of octroi on the liquor being imported in the territory of Cantonment Board; State of Punjab has agreed to the proposal of the Cantonment Board and started reimbursing the additional excise duty levied on the liquor imported within the territory of Cantonment Board. Reimbursement was made till 1988-89; thereafter State of Punjab has taken unilateral decision on 24.01.1991 to limit the reimbursement of additional excise levied in lieu of octroi payable to Cantonment Board Jalandhar only to the extent of actual liquor consumption in the area of Cantonment Board and to remit the balance amount to the Punjab Amalgamated Fund. Petitioner-Cantonment Board had earlier approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by way of writ petition being CWP No. 2965 of 1999, wherein pursuant to the interim direction undisputed amount of Rs. 10,63,29,418/- was reimbursed to the petitioner and writ petition was disposed of vide order dated 21.02.2000 to avail other alternate remedy available under the law; petitioner had issued a legal notice dated 08.10.2001 to the respondents in view of the decision of Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the case of Oil & Natural Gas Commission Vs. CCE, 1992 61 ELT 3 either to pay outstanding amount of Rs. 11,52,60,466/- or to refer the dispute to the High Powered Committee of Secretaries under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary. However, since dispute was not referred to the Committee of the Secretaries, therefore, petitioner had once again approached this Court by way of the present petition.
(2.) Respondents, in their reply to the writ petition had admitted although the Cantonment Board was not under the State of Punjab, however, keeping in view arrangement made between the Cantonment Board and State of Punjab reimbursement was being made to the Cantonment Board on the additional excise duty levied on the liquor at source in lieu of abolition of octroi. However, a decision was taken on 24.01.1991 limiting the reimbursement to the liquor actually consumed within the territory of petitioner-Cantonment Board. It has further been stated that decision dated 24.01.1991 is a policy decision which cannot be challenged by the petitioner by way of present writ petition.
(3.) We have heard Mr. Puneet Jindal, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Piyush Kant Jain, Additional Advocate General, Punjab, appearing for the respondents.;