Judgement

JUDGMENT :- These appeals by special leave impugn the judgment and order of a Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana whereby writ petitions filed by the appellants, and others, were dismissed.

2. The assessee (appellants) hire shuttering to builders and contractors who use it in the course of construction of buildings. The assessees were served with notices under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (the said Act) requiring them to pay sales tax on such hire charges and assessment orders were then so made. The assessment order in the case of M/s. DD Shuttering recorded that the assessee dealt in shuttering materials used in the construction of buildings and received hire charges from its various customers. The hire charges received by it were sales within the meaning of Section 2(l)(1)(iv) of the said Act. The writ petitions were filed to quash these assessment orders and it was contended that the aforementioned provision of the said Act was unconstitutional. The High Court repelled the challenge to constitutionality. It found that the possession of the shuttering material was transferred by the assessees to their customers for use during the construction