Case Law Details
Sesa Sterlite Limited & Anr. Vs State of Goa (Bombay High Court at Goa)
Bombay High Court held that the Goa Cess Act is intra vires Articles 14, 301, 303 read with Article 304 of the Constitution of India. The same is not subsumed by the GST laws.
Facts- The petitioner company is engaged in the business of mining iron ore, extraction, processing, transportation, and export of iron ore from the State of Goa. It also carries on mining activity in the states of Karnataka and Orissa. The mineral ore as coal brought by the petitioner from the State of Karnataka, is required to be transported through the State of Goa since Goa has a major port, namely the Mormugao Port, from where the mineral ore is exported. That ore is imported by the petitioner which is also required for the petitioner’s activities in Goa. It is the petitioner’s case that the cess under the Goa Cess Act is levied both on the mineral ore and also on coal, which is being transported by the petitioner through the State of Goa.
The petitioner further contends that the petitioner is the grantee, concessionaire, or holder in respect of leases of iron ore mines in the State of Goa and Karnataka. It inter alia transports iron ore from its mines and/or purchased by the petitioner, from other sources, in the State of Karnataka into the State of Goa, wherein it is used in its pig iron plant at Amona-Goa and/or exported overseas from the Mormugao Port. It is on such commercial activity of the petitioner the cess is being levied under the Goa Cess Act. Being aggrieved, the present petition is filed.
Conclusion- It also cannot be expected that a small State like Goa is Constitutionally prevented from augmenting revenue for the purpose of improvement of infrastructure and health with a view to promote welfare of the people and more particularly belonging to the rural areas, who become victims of such commercial activities. The polluter pays is the principle which is well recognised. The present Act therefore precisely deals with the societal needs of having an effective infrastructure, which would not only be in the interest of the commercial activities as undertaken by the Petitioners, but also in regard to the health and welfare of the people of Goa residing in rural areas. One can imagine a situation of the persons residing in rural areas in the absence of such transportation activities and whether such persons would have at all suffered. If the answer is in the negative, then certainly considering the principles of Constitutional morality, there is nothing wrong even otherwise for the State to exercise its legislative powers as conferred by the Constitution and enact the law in question. In fact, a failure to enact such legislation would be unusual.
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