State of West Bengal And Ors. Vs Pepsico India Holdings Private Limited (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court considered a batch of appeals and writ petitions concerning the constitutional validity of the West Bengal Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2012, both before and after its amendment by the West Bengal Finance Act, 2017. The matters arose from a judgment dated 24 June 2013 in which a Single Judge had declared the Entry Tax Act, 2012 unconstitutional. The State challenged that ruling, while various assessees questioned the validity of the retrospective amendments introduced in 2017.
Read Interim SC Judgment in this case: SC Grants Interim Relief as Entry Tax on Export-Bound Goods Requires Fresh Examination
The Single Judge had earlier held the Entry Tax Act, 2012 to be ultra vires by relying upon the principles laid down in Atiabari Tea Co. Ltd. v. State of Assam, Automobile Transport (Rajasthan) Ltd. v. State of Rajasthan, and Jindal Steel Ltd. v. State of Haryana. The decision was based on the view that entry tax had to be compensatory in nature and that the State had failed to satisfy constitutional requirements under Articles 304(a) and 304(b). The State appealed against that judgment, and the Division Bench had permitted assessment proceedings under the Act to continue while restraining refunds of entry tax already collected.
