Calcutta Municipal Corporation & Ors. Vs Cricket Association Of Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Advertisement tax on Cricket Association of Bengal not leviable by Kolkata Municipal Corporation without framing regulations
Calcutta High Court held that Kolkata Municipal Corporation cannot levy advertisement tax without framing regulations or without the budget estimate prescribing the rates at which advertisement tax may be levied. Thus, demand notice on Cricket Association of Bengal bad-in-law.
Facts- Cricket Association of Bengal (in short ‘CAB’) enjoys a lease of the Eden Gardens ground in the city of Kolkata. The owner of the property and the lessor is the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. The inaugural ceremony of the Wills World Cup of 1996 was organized by CAB at the Eden Gardens on February 11, 1996. Thereafter, a Semifinal match of the World Cup was held at the said Cricket ground on March 13, 1996. Certain advertisements had been put up both inside and outside the Eden Gardens Stadium. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (in short KMC) issued a demand notice dated March 27, 1996, claiming a sum of Rs. 51,18,450/- from CAB on account of advertisement tax for the aforesaid two days of the Wills World Cup, by invoking Section 204 of the KMC Act, 1980. CAB and its president and secretary challenged such demand notice by filing the instant writ petition.
