Case: UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO.LTD Vs. ANTIQUE ART EXPORTS PVT. LTD

2. The brief facts of the case which may be relevant for the present purpose are that the appellant is a manufacturer and registered dealer of the cashew kernels cashew shell oil, etc. Assessments were made for the years 1990-91 to 1999-2000 by the respective assessing authorities under Section 12(3) of the Act. Against the assessment orders of the assessing authorities, appeals/revision petitions were preferred before the appellate/revisional authority and the contention advanced by the learned counsel for the appellant was that levy of tax under Section 6-B of the Act, on the total turnover is a misconstruction of the provision and it has to be on the ?taxable turnover? which may be in conformity with Article 286 of the Constitution of India but that was neither accepted by the assessing authority nor at the appellate/revisional stage against which the present appeals have been preferred impugning the assessments made for the years 1990-91 to 1999-2000 in the instant appeals.

Court's reasoning:
12. In the instant scheme of the Act of which reference has been made in detail, the expression ‘total turnover? has been referred to for the purpose of identification/classification of dealers for prescribing various rates/slabs of tax leviable to the dealer and read with first and second proviso to Section 6-B(1), this makes the intention of the legislature clear and unambiguous that except the deductions provided under the first proviso to Section 6-B(1) nothing else can be deducted from the total turnover as defined under Section 2(u-2) for the purpose of levy of turnover tax under Section 6-B of the Act.13. The submission of learned counsel for the appellant that the ‘total turnover? in Section 6-B(1) is to be read as ‘taxable turnover? and the determination of the rate of the turnover tax is to be ascertained on the ‘taxable turnover? on the face of it is unsustainable and deserves outright rejection.14. The judgments on which learned counsel has placed reliance in Indra Das Vs. State of Assam (supra) is in context of the fundamental rights in reference to the provisions of Terrorists & Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987, and it was observed that the endeavour of the court should be to try to sustain the validity of the statute by reading it down as possible.15. The judgment in Subramanian Swamy and others Vs. Raju through Member, Juvenile Justice Board and Another 2014(8) SCC 390 was in reference to a challenge to the validity of the Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. Though the validity was repelled by this Court, the doctrine of ‘reading down? was discussed. It was held to be inapplicable in the facts of the said case.16. In Rakesh Kumar Paul Vs. State of Assam(supra), this Court has examined the interpretation of Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which has a reference to the liberty of a citizen. Either of the cases referred to may not have any remote relevance to the question which has come up before us for consideration.