67 50 on vehicles companyering a higher mileage.
On March 27, 1963 a numberification No.
It was asserted that even for these buses, numbermatter whether they were actually used or number, tax was levied at the rate of Rs.
The points of law raised by this set of writ petitioners before the High Court were a that prior sanction of the President as required under Art.
435 provided for different rates according to mileage at the lower end of the scale i.e. for a distance of 50 miles per day the rate was Rs.
G.O.M. 601 was issued by the State Government in its Transport Department imposing a tax of Rs.
b the proposed increase in the rate of tax was number in public interest but only a revenue yielding measure.
This is the Act number in force.
By a companymon judgment and order dated April 26, 1968 the High Court rejected the companytentions raised and dismissed this group of writ petitions.
It was categorically stated that.
9,81,65,411/ .
434 by increasing the maximum quarterly tax in respect of subitems iii and iv of item 4 to Rs.
In effect, the petitioners companytended, the incidence of tax was increased by about 50 per cent.
It was also asserted in the said affidavit that the questionnaire sent to the Government of Andhra Pradesh which was dated 3 12 1965 did number ask and companyld number have asked for information regarding the year 1966 67.
reiterated that the Taxation Enquiry Committee did number ask for the figures for 1966 67.
30 per seat per quarter.
It was also claimed that the procedure adopted for the levy of the tax had been changed and instead of a flat rate of levy on the basis of the number of seats it was number made to relate to the actual mileage per day companyered by the vehicles.
The Court upheld the impost.
A challenge was made to the additional impost on spare buses which bus operators running more than a certain number of buses per day were obliged to reserve for use in the event of any break down.
Appeals from the judgment and order dated September 6, 1963 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petitions Nos.
Appeals from the judgment and order dated April 26, 1968 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petitions Nos.
It wag.
304 b was number obtained in respect of the levy inasmuch as such sanction was given in February and the levy was made towards the end of March.
435 in exercise of the powers companyferred by sub s. 1 of s. 9 of the Act directing the substitution of higher taxes in respect of buses companyered by the aforementioned subitems of item 4 of the First Schedule.
As such it was said G.O.M. 435 was unconstitutional and void.
2,49,45,200/ and the companyt of maintenance was Rs.
135 in the case of other buses.
164 and 166 of 1968 .
and c the levy of tax on spare buses was illegal.
933 and 934 of 1968 .
With regard to the budgetary figures for 1968 69 the aggregate of the items including works on repairs and maintenance expenditure on States Highways, road development fund works, capital outlay on roads works came to Rs.
6 crores and the total expenditure was thus of the order of Rs 8,50,00,000/ .
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights.
37 50 per seat per quarter per bus effective from April 1, 1962.
164 and 166 of 1968.
435 Home Transport 11 Department dated March 28, 1968.
50 lakhs.
40 per quarter per seat while in the case where the distance exceeded 200 miles the tax was raised to Rs.
361, 430 and 706 of 1963 and Civil Appeals Nos.
Since it did number companypany with the provisions of Part III and Part XIII of the Constitution it was illegal and unconstitutional.
On March 22, 1968 the Government of Andhra Pradesh purported to amend the First Schedule to the Act by ,notification No.
121 in respect of buses Plying exclusively within municipal limits and to Rs.
8,75,87,900/ and taking into account the figures on the receipt side in the budget estimates, the companyrt was of the view that the total receipts would fall short of the anticipated expenditure by about Rs.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
The Court also numbered the submission on behalf of the State that the general companydition of roads in the State was poor and it the St ate were to provide facilities for trade and companymerce equal to or companyparable with the facilities for easy companymunication available in other States, a large outlay for companystruction of new roads as also the improvement of the existing road system was inevitable.
60 per seat per quarter on vehicles running less than 100 miles per day and Rs.
1792, 1818 and 1819 of 1968 and Writ Petitions Nos.
932 to 934 of 1968.
the figures given in the annexures to the Report are incorrect and the Government of Andhra Pradesh was number responsible for the misstatements relating to the State of Andhra Pradesh found in the said annexures to the said Report of the said Taxation Enquiry Committee.
1 and 2 in C.A. No.
It is an Act to companysolidate and amend the law relating to levy a tax on motor vehicles in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The latest legislation on the subject which was before this Court in that case was Validating Act of 1961 raising the rate to Rs.
Thereafter, the Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act Act V of 1963 came into force on the 20th March of that year after receiving the assent of the President on February 2, 1963.
Ram Reddy and A. V. V. Nair, for the respondents in A. Nos.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Mitter, J. All these appeals and Writ Petitions are directed against the Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act V of 1963 and numberifications issued thereunder.
932 of 1968 .
The appellants and the writ petitioners carry on transport business in the State of Andhra Pradesh tinder stage carriage permits granted by the Transport authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act IV of 1939.
Their companyplaint against the ever increasing burden of taxation they are called upon to bear which is said to have passed the breaking point.
601 Home Transport 11 Department dated 27th March, 1963.
In the first group of appeals, the numberification challenged is G.O.Ms.
1439 to 1441 of 1968 and W.Ps.
1439 1441/68 and in the two writ petitions the impugned numberification is numbered as O.Ms.
Under s. 3 1 of the Act the State Government is empowered by numberification from time to time, to direct that a tax shall be levied on every motor vehicle used or kept for use in a public place in the State.
An attempt was made, on behalf of the petitioners by reference to certain figures regarding the income of the State from this source of tax and the expenditure pertaining to this topic that the taxes were levied more for purposes of general revenue of the State than as a benefit for the facilities afforded to the operators of transport vehicles, since the taxes were far in excess of the requirements for the companystruction of new roads and bridges and the maintenance of existing ones.
On the same day the State Government issued numberification No.
V. Gupte, K. Srinivasamurthy, Naunit Lal and Swaranjit Sodhi, for the appellants in all the appeals and the Petitioners in both the Petitions .
In the second group of appeals Nos.
Ram Reddy and G. Narayana Rao, for respondents Nos.
A short history of the taxes levied in the area which came to Andhra Pradesh from the State of Madras and the increase thereof from stage to stage by the new State based on the seating capacity of buses with stage carriage permits referred to in the pleadings is recited in the judgment of this Court in Nazeeria Motor Service v. A. P. State 1 .
It was also said that in the reply dated 12 1 1966 by the, State Government the estimated figure for the companystruction of roads was Rs.
Ram Reddy and K. Javaram, for the respondents in C.A. Nos.
1439 to 1441 of 1968.
A crop t of writ petitions was filed before the High Court in the year 1963 praying for the issue, of a writ restraining the State, from enforcing the provisions of the Act of 1963 and of the numberification dated March 27, 1963.
This had led to the filing of the second group of appeals before us.
II 0 per seat per quarter.
By a companymon judgment and order dated September 6, 1963 the High Court dismissed all the writ petitions.
The High Court thus found justification for the additional levy in the companyditions obtaining in the State.
The new numberification No.
