AIR 1961 SUPREME COURT 552 ::1961 Ker LJ 143 ::1961 2 SCJ 269 ::1961 3 SCR 77

Supreme Court Of India

Hon'ble Judge(s): B. P. Sinha, S. J. Imam, A. K. Sarkar, K. Subba Rao, J. C. Shah , JJJ

(A) Constitution of India , Art.265, Art.13(2), Art.14— Scope and effect of Art. 265 - Taxing statute - Not wholly immune from attack on ground of violation of Art. 14. Per Majority:- Article 265 imposes a limitation on the taxing power of the State in so far as it provides that the State shall not levy or collect a tax, except by authority of law, that is to say, a tax cannot be levied or collected by a mere executive fiat. It has to be done by authority of law, which must mean valid law. In order that the law may be valid, the tax proposed to be levied must be within the legislative competence of the Legislature imposing a tax and authorising the collection thereof and, secondly, the tax must be subject to the conditions laid down in Art. 13 of the Constitution.(Para 7) A taxing statute is not wholly immune from attack on the ground that it infringes the equality clause in Art. 14, though the courts are not concerned with the policy underlying a taxing statute or whether a particular tax could not have been imposed in a different way or in a way that the court might think more just and equitable. If the legislature has classified persons or properties into different categories which are subject to different rates of taxation with reference to income or property, such a classification would not be open to the attack of inequal....