Pali Hill Breweries Private Limited Vs State of Jharkhand (Jharkhand High Court)
Jharkhand High Court held that levy of electricity duty on the basis of ‘net charges’ as introduced by the 1st Amendment Act, 2021 is ultra vires to the Bihar Electricity Duty Act, 1948. Accordingly, 1st Amendment Act, 2021 and the Rules, 2021 are declared ultra vires to the Act, 1948.
Facts- In the present batch of writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the vires and validity of Sections 2 and 3 of the Jharkhand Electricity Duty (Amendment) Act, 2021 (Jharkhand Act 16 No.05 of 2021) notified in the Extraordinary Edition of Jharkhand Gazette published by the Government of Jharkhand on 07.07.2021. The petitioners have also challenged the vires of the Jharkhand Electricity Duty (Amendment) Rules, 2021notified in the Extraordinary Edition of Jharkhand Gazette published by the Government of Jharkhand on 01.04.2022. Some of the writ petitioners, who are the captive consumers, have challenged the vires and validity of the Jharkhand Electricity Duty (Amendment) Act, 2021 notified in the Extraordinary Edition of Jharkhand Gazette published by the Government of Jharkhand on 17.02.2022. The petitioners have also prayed for refund of the amount of electricity duty along with interest, if any, realized from them pursuant to the 1st Amendment Act, 2021.
