But the application of Article 305 by the court signifies that prohibition in Article 301 applies to Octroi. Continuance of such laws was envisaged as a temporary arrangement and, therefore, the President was empowered to withdraw such laws regard-less of their being in the Union or the State List. In the forty years of the Constitution, the President has never acted on his own to abolish Octroi. It should be noted that a state legislature does not need assent of the President to do away with Octroi, itself being fully competent to do so. What applies to Octroi, applies with double vigour to entry tax.
Octroi has some justification as an independent source of revenue for local governments.
Entry tax cannot be justified on any ground whatsoever. The unity and integrity of the Republic is equally put in jeopardy by both the taxes. While the European nations are preparing to forget about their sovereign power and eliminate customs barriers to bring about economic fusion of their countries, we amend the Constitution to put the noose called consignment tax round the economic unity and integrity of the Republic. And that just for one reason, political shyness in approaching the voter directly for the pound of his flesh called tax.