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3. Section 4 of the Amending Act VI of 1980 has amended the relevant items in the schedule to the Additional Duties Act, the expressions' `produce' or `manufacture' in Section 3(1) of the Additional Duties Act must be read along with the entries in the Schedules. What appears, therefore, clear is that what applies to the main levy, applies to the additional duties as well. [803F] Pandit Ram Narain v. The State of Uttar Pradesh and Ors.,[1956] S.C.R. 664 at 673; Macbath & Com. v. Chisletr, [1910] AC 220 at 224; Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh, [19671 2 S.C.R. 720 at 725-26; Assistant Collector of Central Excise, Calcutta Division v. National Tobacco Co. of India Ltd., [1973] 1 S.C.R. 822 at 835; Att.-Gen. v. Lamplough [1878] 3 Ex. D. 214, 299; Interpretation of States, 11th ed. p. 156 and Bennion's Statutory Interpreation, p. 568-569, referred to. 4(i) A Competent legislature can always validate a law which has been declared by court to be invalid provided the infirmities and vitiating factors noticed in the declaratory-judgment are removed for cured. Such a validating law can also be made retrospective. If in the light of such validating and curative exercise made by the legislature---granting legislative--competence--the earlier judgment becomes irrelevant and unenforceable, that cannot be called an impermissible legislative overruling of the judicial decision. All that the legislature does is to usher in a valid law with retrospective effect in the light of which earlier judgment becomes irrelevant. Such legislative expedience of validation of laws is of particular significance and utility and is quit often applied, in taxing statutes. It is necessary that the legislature should be able to cure defects in statutes. No individual can PG NO 778 acquire a vested right from a defect in a statute and seek a wind-fall from the legislature's mistakes. [804G-H; 805A-C] Sri Prithvi Cotton Mills Ltd. & Anr. v. Broach Borough Municipality & Ors., [1970] 1 S.C.R. 388, referred to. 4(ii) Validity of legislations retroactively curing defects in taxing statutes is well recognised and courts, except under extraordinary circumstances, would be reluctant to override the legislative judgment as to the need for and wisdom of the retrospective legislation. [805C] 4(iii) In testing whether a retrospective imposition of a tax operates so harshly as to violate fundamental rights under article 19(1)(g), the factors considered relevant include the context in which retroactivity was contemplated such as whether the law is one of validation of taxing statute struck-down by courts for certain defects; the period of such retroactivity, and the decree and extent of any unforeseen or unforeseenable financial burden imposed for the past period etc. Having regard to all the circumstances of the present case, this court in Empire Industries' case rightly held that the retroactivity of the Amending provisions was not such as to incure any infirmity under Article 9(1)(g). [805E-G] 5(i) Section 4 of the `Central Excise Act' envisages that the value of an article for the purposes of duty shall be deemed to be; (a) the wholesale cash price for which an article of the like kind and quality was sold or was capable of being sold at the time of removal of the article from the factory or premises of manufacture for delivery at the place of manufactures or (b) where such price was not ,ascertainable the price at which an article of the like kind and quality as sold or capable of being sold al the time of removal of the article chargeable with duty [808F-G] 5(ii) Consistent with the provisions of Section 4 and the Central Excise (Valuation) Rules, 1975, framed under sec. 37 of the Act, it cannot be said that the assessable- value of the processed fabric should comprise only of the processing-charges. this extreme contention, if accepted, would lead to and create more problems than it is supposed to solve, and produce situations which could only be characterised as anomalous. The incidence of the levy should be uniform, uninfluenced by fortuitous considerations. The view taken in the matter in Empire Industries case does not call for reconsideration. [809C-D] PG NO 779 5(iii) The question whether the producer or the manufacturer is or is not the owner of the goods is not determinative of the liability. The essential and conceptional nature of the tax is to be kept clearly distinguished from both the extent of the power to impose and the stage at which the tax is imposed. Though the levy is on the production or manufacture of the goods, the imposition of the duty could be at the stage which the law considers most convenient to impose as long as a rational relationship with the nature of the tax is maintained. [806B-D] 5(iv) The nature of the excise duty is not to be confused with, or tested with reference to, the measure by which the tax is assessed. The standard adopted as the measure of assessment may throw light on the nature of the levy but is not determinative of it. When a statutory measure for assessment of the tax is contemplated, it "need not contour along the lines which spell out the levy itself', and "a broader based standard of reference may be adopted for the purposes of determining the measure of the levy". Any statutory standard which maintains a nexus with the essential character of the levy can be regarded as a valid basis for assessing the measure of the tax. [808G-H; 809A-B] Atic Industries Ltd. v. H.H. Dave, Assn. Collector of Central Excise and Ors., [1975] 3 S.C.R. p. 563 and Union of India Ors. etc. etc. v. Bombay Tyre International Ltd. etc.. [1984] 1 S.C.R. p. 347 at 375, referred to.

What appears. therefore, clear is that what applies to the main levy, applies to the additional duties as well, we find no substance in Contention [c] either.

25. Re: Contention [d] There is really no substance in the grievance that the retroactivity imparted to the amendments is violative of Article 19 [l] (g). A Competent legislature can always validate a law which has been declared by courts to be invalid, provided the infirmities and vitiating infactors noticed in the declaratory-judgment are removed or cured. Such a validating law can also be made retrospective. If in the light of such validating and curative exercise made by the Legislature-granting legislative competence--the earlier judgment becomes irrelevant and unenforceable, that cannot PG NO 805 be called an impermissible legislative overruling of the judicial decision. All that the legislature does is to usher in a valid law with retrospective effect in the light of which earlier judgment becomes irrelevant. (See Sri Prithvi Cotton Mills Ltd. & Anr. v. Broach Borough Municipality & Ors., [1970] 1 SCR, 388) Such legislative expedience of validation of laws is of particular significance and utility and is quite often applied, in taxing statutes. It is necessary that the legislature should be able to cure defects in statutes. No individual can acquire a vested right from a defect in a statute and seek a windfall from the legislature's mistakes. Validity of legislations retroactively curing defects in taxing statutes is well recognised and courts, except under extraordinary circumstances, would be reluctant to override the legislative judgment as to the need for and wisdom of the retrospective legislation. In Empire Industries Limited & Ors. Etc. v. Union of India & Ors. Etc., [ 19851 l Supp. 292 at 327 this court observed:

"..... not only because of the paramount governmental interest in obtaining adequate revenues, but also because taxes are not in the nature of a penalty or a contractual obligation but rather a means of apportioning the costs of government amongst those who benefit from it".

In testing whether a retrospective imposition of a tax operates so harshly as to violate fundamental rights under Article l9(1)(g), the factors considered relevant include the context in which retroactivity was contemplated such as whether the law is one of validation of taxing statute struck-down by courts for certain defects; the period of such retroactivity, and the degree and extent of any unforeseen or unforseable financial burden imposed for the past period etc. Having regard to all the circumstances of the present case, this court in Empire Industries' case held that the retroactivity of the Amending provisions was not such as to incur any infirmity under Article 19( l)(g). We arc in respectful agreement with that view. There is no merit in contention (d) either.