The doctrine of prospective invalidation cannot be applied to prevent the recovery of tax that was not legally due.

( 1 ) THE appellants are manufacturers of television sets and the like in the State of Karnataka.

( 2 ) ON 23/6/1986, a notification was issued by the respondent-State under Section 8-A of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957. Thereby the tax payable a by a dealer under Section 5 of the Act on television sets and components manufactured in Karnataka was reduced to 2%. At that point of time, the tax payable by dealers in television sets under the Act was 4%. On 28/3/1987, the respondent-State issued another notification whereby the reduced tax payable by dealers in television sets and components manufactured in Karnataka was enhanced from 2 to 3%. On the same date, the rate of tax payable by dealers in television sets and components was enhanced from 4 to 6%.

( 3 ) THE notifications by which the rate of tax payable by dealers in television sets and components manufactured in Karnataka had been reduced were challenged by Solidaire India Limited, a company manufacturing television sets outside the State of Kamataka. On 8/10/1990, the writ petition was allowed and these notifications were quashed.

( 4 ) IN January 1991, the appellants received notices from the Sales Tax Authorities in the respondent-State calling upon them to show cause why they should not pay sales tax at the normal rate instead of the reduced rate, pursuant to the quashing of the said two notifications. A provisional assessment order in this regard was then passed and a demand notice was issued. On 8/2/1991, the appellants filed the writ petitions out of which these appeals arise. They challenged the aforesaid demand notices. They also prayed that the judgment of the learned Single Judge in the case of Solidaire should not be held to be enforceable as against them. These writ petitions were heard by a division bench along with the appeal filed by the State government against the Single Judges judgment in Solidaire as also the appeal filed by Solidaire itself. The appeals of the State government and Solidaire were dismissed. Insofar as the appellants writ petitions were concerned, it was held that the doctrine of prospective invalidation could not be employed in exercise of powers under Article 226. Accordingly these writ petitions were also dismissed.

( 5 ) IT has been fairly pointed out by learned counsel for the appellants that the learned government Pleader had, in relation to the Solidaire appeal, stated to the division bench on instructions that the Sales Tax Authorities proposed to recover the difference in duty from manufacturers within the State having regard to the fact that the notifications giving them the benefit of a lower rate of tax had been struck down.

( 6 ) LEARNED counsel for the appellants drew our attention to the judgment of this court in W. B. Hosiery Assn. v. State of Bihar. In that case, a notification granting a concessional rate of tax to local manufacturers was struck down and this court said:

"9. We find that the said Notification No. SO 934 dated August I, 1984 is void for the reasons set out earlier and we quash the same. We realised that quashing of this notification on the ground that it was void 172 ab initio might lead to undue hardship for the dealers in the State of Bihar who might have sold locally manufactured hosiery goods without taking into consideration any amount on account of the liability to sales a tax in view of the exemption granted by the said notification dated 1/08/1984. In order to obviate this hardship we direct that the arrears of sales tax which would become payable by the dealers in the State of Bihar in respect of sales of local hosiery goods made during the period when the said notification was in operation should not be collected. "

( 7 ) ATTENTION was also drawn to the order of this court in review petitions arising out of Writ Petition (C) No. 770 of 1989 and connected matters, passed on 18/8/1998. In the case of Indian Cement v. State of A. P. notifications providing for a concessional rate of tax to ceme