- (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed by Modern Food Industries (India) Ltd. , a Government of India enterprise, and running a roller flour mill at Faridabad Notice Annexure P-1 was served upon the petitioner under Section 13 (2) of the Punjab Agriculture Produce Market Act, 1961 (as applicable to Haryana) calling upon the petitioner to furnish details of agricultural produce purchased by the petitioner for the purposes of levy of market fee. Such information was supplied by the petitioner vide letter as contained in annexure P-2 attached thereto On that, as order was issued on July 4, 1988, by the Market Committee Faridabad calling upon the petitioner to deposit the market fee on the agriculture produce brought as per details furnished. Thereafter, a certificate of recovery of the amount of market fee was issued by the Market Committee to the District Collector vide Annexure P-4 with respect to the recovery of Rs. 13,134. 33. Another certificate on that very day was issued copy of which is Annexure P-5 with respect to recovery of Rs. 42,347. 82. The petitioner submitted representations. Copies of the same are Annexures P 6 and P-8. Ultimately, when no selief was given by the Market Committee, the present writ petition was filed challenging imposition of the market fee as stated above.
(2.) ALTHOUGH this writ petition was admitted in November, 1989, in the presence of Advocate General, Haryana and counsel for the Market Committee, no written statement has so far been filed. Thus, accepting the allegations made in the writ petition to be correct, the same is disposed of.
(3.) SHRI R. P. Jagga, counsel for the petitioner, has argued that the petitioner is not a licencee liable to pay the market fee. This contention as such cannot be accepted. Section 2 (f) of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, defines "dealer" as follows : "dealer" means any person who within the notified market area sets up establishes or continues or allows to be continued any place for the purchase, sale, storage, processing of agricultural produce notified under sub-section (1) of Section 6 or purchases, sells stores or processes such agricultural produce". Section 2 (hh) of the Act defines "licensee" as under : "licencee" means a dealer to whom a licence is granted under Section 10 and the rules made under this Act and includes any person who purchases or sells agricultural produce and to whom a licence is granted as Kacha Arhtia or commission agent or otherwise but does not include a person licenced under Section 13" The petitioner is fully covered by the definition of "dealer" as reproduced above. That being the position, the petitioner was required to obtain the licence under the provisions of the Act. Section 23 of the Act empowers the market committee to levy market fee on the agricultural produce bought or sold or brought for processing by dealers in a notified area. But this power is subject to the rules framed under the Act. Rule 29 (1) of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (General) Rules, 1962 reads as under : "29. Levy and collection of fees on the sale and purchase of agricultural produce - (I) Under Section 23, a Committee shall levy fees on the agriculture all produce bought or sold or brought for processing by licencees in the notified market area at the rates fixed by the Board from time to time : Provided that no such fees shall be levied on the same agricultural produce more than once in the same notified market area A list of such fees shall be exhibited in some conspicuous place at the office of the Committee concerned : Provided further that no such fee shall be levied on the wheat imported from a foreign country or wheat or cotton brought for storage, processing or distribution from within the State by the Government or a Corporation in which the Government has the substantial interest : Provided further that no such fee shall be levied on the certified seeds". Sub rule (1) of Rule 29 provides for levy and collection of market fee. Second proviso to Rule 29 (1) as reproduced above exempts the levy of fee on wheat imported from a foreign country or wheat or cotton brought for storage processing or distribution from within the State by the Government or a Corporation in which the Government has a substantial intere3t As already stated above, in para 1 of the writ petition it was stated that the petitioner is a Government of India enterprise which fact was not denied It would be exempt from the levy of market fee in respect of the wheat brought and bought by the petitioner as per details given in Annexture P-2 which shows that the same was purchased from within the State. The position might have been different if the petitioner had brought the wheat from outside the State that any market fee could be levied But in the facts of the present case, no market fee could be levied on the petitioner in view of Rule 29 read with the provisos referred to above. Hence the demand notices Annexures P-3 to P 5 and warrant of recovery Annexures P-6 and P-7 are hereby quashed. There will be no order as to costs.;