- (1.) Payment of Annual Municipal Holding Tax consolidated at Rs.19 lakhs for three Holdings of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (Administrative Block, Satellite Township and Delhi Public School) to Ranchi Municipal Corporation is the subject matter of dispute in this writ petition. The dispute had a chequered career for two decades. The history of various rounds of litigation at the instance of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) has been elaborately discussed in the impugned judgment of the Additional Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi/Appellate Authority.
(2.) Brief Facts: The Petitioner- SAIL is a Government Company and having its own Unit namely Research and Development Centre for iron and steel at Ranchi within the jurisdiction of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation, Ranchi. Petitioner's Predecessor-Company was Hindustan Steel Authority of India Ltd., who had acquired 25 acres of land at Ranchi on which Administrative Building, Laboratory and MTI buildings were constructed, for which after negotiation between the petitioner and the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), consolidated tax was fixed on mutual understanding at Rs.3 lakhs per annum, vide order dated 31.7.1986 passed by the RMC and the same was paid from 1.4.1985. In the year 1987, the petitioner took on lease 65 acres of land from the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) and constructed its own township Satellite Township including Delhi Public School within the said township. After assessing annual rental value of the Administrative Block, Satellite Township and Delhi Public School, vide Annexure 3, 3/1 and 3/2 (all dated 26.6.1992), Annual Municipal Tax of Rs.23,42,571.12 was levied. Against the said levy, the Petitioner neither filed any appeal, nor paid the tax. One Sri R.C.Nangia, Dy.CFM, representative of the petitioner, attended RMC office on 23.2.1993 and objected the enhancement of tax as without basis. However, after negotiation, tax was compounded at Rs.19 lakhs and to that effect ordersheet dated 23.2.1993 (Annexure 7) was drawn and the representative of the petitioner also signed on the same. After fixation of tax at Rs.19 lakhs by mutual understanding, certain payments were made by the petitioner under protest towards payment of Municipal Holding Tax. The letter dated 24.2.1995 (Annexure 9) was sent to the petitioner by RMC calling upon the petitioner to pay Municipal Holding Tax which was fixed at Rs.19 lakhs on mutual understanding. Vide Annexure 10 and 11, SAIL raised objection by its letters dated 23.3.1995 and 17.5.1995. The petitioner had not filed any appeal as stipulated under the Patna Municipal Corporation Act. The petitioner challenged the levy of Annual Municipal Holding Tax by filing CWJC No.3546/1996(R), which was dismissed.
(3.) Challenging the order of dismissal of CWJC No.3546/1996(R), SAIL unsuccessfully agitated the matter upto the level of Supreme Court. In the light of the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court, Civil Review No.98/1997(R) was filed in the High Court and the same was disposed of on 18.7.2000, giving liberty to the petitioner to file an appeal before the Appellate Authority in terms of the Patna Municipal Corporation Act. However, while disposing the Civil Review petition, it was observed that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner for realization of the assessed tax till the disposal of the appeal. Thereafter SAIL filed appeal being MJC (Misc. Appeal) No.64/2000, before the Additional Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi, who, by elaborate judgment dated 28.4.2012, dismissed the appeal filed by the SAIL, which is the subject-matter of challenge in this writ petition.;