CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1801 of 1974.
From the Judgment and Order ,dated 20.3.1974 of the Karnataka High Court in W.P. No. 1956 of 1971.
R.N. Narasimhmurthy, Novin Singh and M. Veerappa for the Appellants. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
RANGANATH MISRA. CJ. The appeal is by special leave. Challenge is to the Judgment.,of the Karnataka .High Court declaring Rule 8(1) of the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian & Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968 in so far as it relates to levy of licence fee for retail vending of authorised India and foreign liquors and directing refund of such levy collected within three years prior 2.8.1971 when the Writ Petition was filed. . . Respondent, an excise contractor, had taken in auction the exclusive privilege tosell liquors in retail at an approved shop premises. ’He was issued the appropriate licence under the provisions of the law on payment of licence fee in terms of Item 2 of Rule 8(1) of the aforesaid Rules. Respondent filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging the vires of s. 23(d) of the Mysore Excise Act, 1965 (hereafter ’Act’ for short) and Rule 8(1.) as being beyond the legislative competence of,the State Legislature. The High Court did not accept the contention of the respondent in ’regard to s. 23 but held that Rule 8(1)-authorising the ’levy of a licence fee for the retail off shop was without authority of law.
Section 23(d), as far as relevant, provides:
"23. Ways of levying such duties--
Subject to such Rules regulating the time,
place and manner, as may be prescribed, excise
duty and countervailing duty under section 22
shall be levied in one or more of the follow-
ing ways, as may be prescribed, namely:
(d)by fees on licences in respect of
manufacture or sale of any excisable
articles."
Rule 8 made the rule making powers, under
the Act, interalia, provides:
"8. Fee to be paid--
(1) The licence fee for the several
kinds of licences shall be as follows, namely: The High Court rightly did not accept the challenge to s. 23(d) of the Act. What is authorised under s. 23(d) is imposition of a fee of licence in respect of manufacture or sale of any excisable articles. Rule 8(1) has obviously gone beyond the enabling provision in the section by requiring a licence fee to be paid for the premises where the licence shop is located. Such a fee would not have the support of s. 23(d). It is unnecessary to refer to precedents for support for this conclusion. It may be possible for the Legislature to make a statutory provision for a licence fee of the type contemplated under the Rules but without authority of the statute a rule of the type impugned should not have been made. We find no merit in this appeal and it is, therefore, diismissed. fore, dismissed.
Respondent did not appear inspite of service of appeal notice. We make no of for costs. G.N. Appeal dismissed.