WESTERN INDIA MATCH CO. LTD., BOMBAY Vs. MUNICIPAL COUNCIL ALLEPPEY AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Western India Match Co., Ltd., who have their registered office in Bombay and who do their business of manufacture and sale of matches all over India including the town of Alleppey in this State, are the petitioners and the respondents are the Municipal Council, Alleppey and the Commissioner, Alleppey Municipality, respectively in both the petitions. The prayer in both is for the issue of a writ of certiorari calling up the relevant records from the respondents and quash the order of the second respondent (1) dated 16 -4 -1951 assessing the petitioner to profession tax and the first respondent's order dated 24 -3 -1952 in appeal therefrom in O.P. No. 52 and (2) dated 12 -5 -50 assessing the petitioner to profession tax and the first respondent's order dated 24 -3 -1952 in appeal therefrom in O.P. No. 54, and to give further directions in the matter of refund of tax illegally levied or to issue such other writs or orders as would be deemed necessary in the circumstances of the case.

(2.) THE point taken in the petitions to this Court is primarily that having accepted the turnover basis for purposes of computation of the income the Commissioner had no jurisdiction to arbitrarily exaggerate the all India profit and ascertain on such basis the proportionate income from the Alleppey Sales Depot (paragraph 11 of the affidavit). Alternatively, it is claimed in para 13 that if the income as returned was unacceptable the Commissioner had only to ascertain the income of the Alleppey Depot on the basis of 6 per cent of the turnover as prescribed by Government Notification R. Dis. 705/47, L.G.A. dated 26 -8 -1947 as per R. 18 of Sch. II of the Act in that regard. Clause 2 of R. 18 enacts that