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Judgment
Phillips, J.—The learned Judge has held that the respondent''s firm are not liable to pay the professional tax under the Madras District
Municipalities Act except at their principal place of business. The section which imposes the tax is Section 93, and reading that section by itself it
would seem to include all places of business in which the firm carries on trade. That this is not so is clear from Clause 3 of the same section which
shows that if a tax is paid in one Municipality that amount may be deducted from the Income Tax that may fall due in another and we have further
the provision under Rule 18 of Schedule IV which states what persons shall be deemed to have exercised a profession or trade or calling, and
there it is distinctly laid down that he shall be deemed to have exercised a profession, art, trade, or calling, if his principal office or place of
employment is within the Municipality. The argument that the word ''principal'' only qualifies ''offices'' and not ''place of employment'' must certainly
be negatived for otherwise the last sentence of that section would be entirely meaningless. The natural construction of the word is that ""principal
qualifies both ""office"" and ""place of employment."" If that is so the decision of the learned Judge is right and we agree with his conclusion.
The appeal is dismissed with costs.