Judgment

M. Jagannadha Rao, J. — Leave granted.

2. This appeal is preferred by the State of Tamil Nadu and the Commer­cial Tax Officer, Harbour-I, Assessment Circle, Chennai against the Judgment of the High Court of Madras in Writ Appeal No. 1015 of 1994 dated 10.12.1996. By that Judgment, the Division Bench allowed the appeal and set aside the Judgment passed by the learned Single Judge in Writ Petition No. 5509 of 1994 dated 30th March, 1994. The learned single Judge had dismissed the writ petition No. 5509 of 1994 filed by the first respondent, the Board of Trustees of the Port Trust of Madras (hereinafter called the ‘Port Trust’) and by the Judgment under appeal, the writ petitions stood allowed and the notices issued by the Second appellant, the Commercial Tax Officer on 1.9.1993 and 8.2.1994 stood quashed.

3. The facts are as follows:

The Madras Port Trust is now a major Port Trust governed by the provisions of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (earlier it was governed by an Act of 1905). It provides services of landing, shipping or transhipping, receiving, shifting, transporting, storing or delivery of goods brought into the premises of the Port Trust. Goods are brought into the P