JUDGMENT

Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri, J.-Civil Appeal Nos. 5863-64/1997, 5865-66/1997 and 5534/1997 :

These appeals from various orders of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal (for short, the Tribunal ) raise a common question as to the constitutional validity of provisions, mentioned hereunder, of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 [West Bengal Act XVIX of 1994] (for short, the Act ) and the Rules made thereunder. The Act came into force on March 23, 1995. It repealed the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 which was then in force.

2. The respondents challenged the constitutional validity of the following provisions of the Act: (i) Section 2(6); (ii) Explanation to sub-section (1), sub-sections (5), (7), (8), (10), (11) and (12) of Section 11; (iii) sub-section (4) of Section 14; and (iv) Rules 172, 173, 174, 188 and 189 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1994 (for short, the Rules ). The Tribunal held:

"that section 2(6) of the 1994 Act is valid and constitutional with a rider that until the manner of disclosure of name address of the consignor or consignee is prescribed in terms of this judgment, the provision as to disclosure of those particulars shall remain suspended. Observatio