Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

"(1) Save insofar as the President may by order otherwise provide, no law of a State in force immediately before the commencement of this Constitution shall impose, or authorise the imposition of, a tax in respect of any water or electricity stored, generated, consumed, distributed or sold by any authority established by any existing law or any law made by Parliament for regulating or developing any interState river or river-valley.
(2) The Legislature of a State may by law impose, or authorise the imposition of, any such tax as is mentioned in clause (1), but no such law shall have any effect unless it has, after having been reserved for the consideration of the President, received his assent; and if any such law provides for the fixation of the rates and other incidents of such tax by means of rules or orders to be made under the law by any authority, the law shall provide for the previous consent of the President being obtained to the making of any such rule or order."
"5. Article 288 grants exemption from tax under any law of a State in respect of any water or electricity stored, generated, consumed, distributed or sold by any authority established by any existing law or any law made by Parliament for regulating or developing any interState river or river-valley, except in certain cases. According to clause (1) of the article, this exemption would not be available in respect of such tax imposed under any law of a State in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution if the President by order so provides. .....
" 33. .... This submission is stated only to be rejected. These articles make some provisions for electricity and water or electricity in the special context dealt with by those articles and do not exclude applicability of other articles where electricity has been dealt with as goods." (emphasis supplied)

25. Read from the context of the Art.288 which is placed in the constitutional provisions and being an exemption in favour of an Interstate river or River Valley Authority established by an Act or Parliament for regulating or developing any inter-state river or river valley that exemption provision has to be read in that context and in terms of the very Article. If we read in that context, the levy is only in respect of sale, storage, generation or consumption by a river valley or inter-state river valley corporation established by law made by Parliament alone is included and not other levies on electricity or water either generated or distributed by others. Even such levy is permissible if the President's assent is accorded. The enactment namely The Tamil Nadu Taxation on Consumption or Sale of Electricity is not an enactment imposing duty or tax on electricity stored, generated, consumed or distributed by any inter-state river or river valley authority established by an Act of Parliament. None of the petitioners belong to that category of inter-state river valley corporation established by an Act of Parliament to claim the protection under Art.288 of The Constitution. The contention advanced cannot be countenanced and it fails.