ASHOK BHAN, J. - (1.) CHALLENGE in this writ petition is to the validity of section 4-B of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as "the State Act") being ultra vires the Constitution being outside the competence of the State Legislature to enact such a provision.
(2.) FACTS relevant to the point in issue are as under : Petitioner-Food Corporation of India (hereinafter referred to as "the petitioner-corporation") is a statutory corporation incorporated under the Food Corporation Act, 1964. The corporation was established with the primary object of safe-guarding the interests of the farmers on one hand by providing support price for their produce and the consumers on the other hand by making available the foodgrains at controlled price fixed by the Government of India. The main functions of the petitioner-corporation are purchases, storage, movement, transport, distribution and sale of foodgrains and other food-stuffs. Before the formation of the petitioner-corporation, these functions were being discharged by the Department of Food, Government of India themselves. In order to carry out these objectives, the petitioner-corporation procures foodgrains in the surplus States and distributes the same to the other States as per the policy of the Government of India. In order to carry out these objectives mentioned above, the petitioner-corporation has its branches in various States. The present petition relates to the operations of the corporation in the State of Punjab, which operations for taxation purpose, are controlled by the branch of the petitioner-corporation at Patiala, which is registered under the State Act as well as the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Central Act") as a dealer.
(3.) IN this petition, the petitioner-corporation is challenging, inter alia, the constitutional validity of section 4-B of the State Act, as also Notification No. S. O. 19/p. A/46/48/s. 4. B/73 dated April 6, 1973, as modified by Notification No. S. O. 89/p. A. /46/48/s. 4. B/73, dated December 20, 1973, issued under section 4-B of the State Act and the competence of the Government of Punjab to impose levy and collect purchase tax on goods consigned from the State of Punjab by the petitioner-corporation to its branches in other States outside Punjab.;