Lalji Singh vs District Magistrate and Others

K.N. Seth, J.—The Petitioner carries on business in the rural area of district Gorakhpur. He has challenged the legality of the order of the District Magistrate dated 31st December 1981 by which he stayed the operation of the order issued by the Prescribed Authority on 31st October 1981 introducing certain changes in the rules relating to assessment of Circumstances and Property Tax. The stand taken by the Petitioner is that the District Magistrate had no power to stay the operation of the order of the Commissioner, who was the Prescribed Authority under the U.P. Kshettra Samitis and Zila Parishads Adhiniyam. In the counter affidavits filed on behalf of the Respondent it has been stated that the Prescribed Authority itself by its order dated 11th January 1982 revoked his earlier order dated 31st October 1981. It has further been asserted that under the rules relating to imposition of Circumstance and Property Tax the Secretary (Karya Adhikari) of the Zila Parishad is the competent authority to assess the tax. It has further been stressed that the Prescribed Authority had no jurisdiction to change the Assessing Authority and provide for a committee to assess the Circumstances and Property Tax. It was also pleaded that no relief has been sought against the order of the Prescribed Authority dated 1lth January 1982 and consequently no useful purpose would be served merely by quashing the order of the District Magistrate dated 31st December 1981.

Section 140 of the Act sets out the matters ''that shall be governed by rules. One of such matter is the assessment and collection of taxes. Section 237 of the Act confer the power of making rules on the State Government. It lays down:

(1) The State Government may by notification in the Gazette make rules consistent with this Act in respect of any matter or matters for which the power of making rules is expressly or by implication conferred by this Act, and may also make rules which are otherwise requisite for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) Any rule made under Sub-section (1) may be general for all Zila Parishads or all Kahettra Samitis or special for any one or more Zila Parishads or Kshettra Samitis to be specified, and shall not be made except after previous publication.

(3) ....

Section 239 of the Act empowers the Parishad to make bye-laws for its own purposes and for the purposes of Kshettra Samitis, applicable to the whole or any part of the rural area of the district, consistent with the Act and with any rule, in respect of matters required by the Act to be governed by bye-laws. The various subjects on which the Zila Parishad is empowered to make bye-laws does not cover the matter relating to assessment and collection of taxes.

The Rules relating to assessment and collection of taxes on Circumstances and Property in the rural area of Gorakhpur district were originally framed by the State Government under Notification dated May 17, 1933. Rule 3 provides that the tax shall be assessed by the Secretary, District Board, hereafter called the Assessing Officer. It may be noted that the same rule has been adopted under the U.P. Kshettra Samitis and Zila Parishad Adhiniyam. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner could not place before us any bye-laws relating to assessment and collection of Circumstances and Property Tax. In fact no such bye-laws could be framed under the Act.

It appears that under some mistake the Zila Parishad forwarded its proposal for making amendments in the aforesaid rules, wrongly describing the rules as bye-laws, to the Commissioner who happens to be the Prescribed Authority under the Act. The Commissioner confirmed the modification (sic) Later on when it was brought to his notice that he had no power to make any amendments in the rules relating to Zila Parishad. It may be that the District Magistrate was not competent to stay the operation of the order of the Prescribed Authority dated 31st October 1981 but that order has lost all its significance since the order dated 31st October 1981 has been revoked by the Commissioner himself on being satisfied that he had no authority to approve amendment in the rules relating to the assessment and imposition of Circumstances and Property Tax. Under the Act the power conferred on the P the imposition and collection of Circumstances and Property Tax, he revoked earlier order leaving the matter as it stood before the proposal put forward by the Prescribed Authority is to approve or introduce certain types of changes in the proposal relating to bye-laws. Since the matter related to rules governing the imposition and collection of Circumstances and Property Tax, the Prescribed Authority had no jurisdiction to approve or disapprove the proposal put forward by the Zila Parishad. In the pesent petition the Petitioner is not entitled to any relief.

The petition is accordingly rejected. The interim stay order dated 13-1-1982 is vacated.