1. The Andhra Pradesh Tourist Development Corporation (APTDC, for short) has approached this Court by way of the present writ petition aggrieved by the orders passed by the respondent taxation authorities of the Transport Department of the State of Karnataka and for quashing of the order passed by the 2nd respondent Deputy Commissioner for Transports dismissing its appeal No.29/2007 vide order dated 15.10.2009 and the impugned assessment orders passed by the Assistant Commissioner and refusing to grant the exemption from payment of tax under the provisions of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957 despite exemption Notification dated 22.3.1994.

2. The petitioner APTDC claimed such exemption from payment of tax available to it on the basis of the Exemption Notification dated FTD 189 TMT 93 dated 22.3.1994 issued by the Government of Karnataka, in respect of buses plied by them on All India Tourist Permits inter alia, in the State of Karnataka also. The impugned orders passed by the learned Deputy Commissioner for Transports, Gulbarga has assigned the following reasons in the order dated 15.10.2009 for refusing such an exemption to the petitioner Corporation. The impugned order is quoted below for ready reference

22. The issue that came up for consideration in the appeal No.3/GLBG/Tax/2003-04 dated 19.8.2003 was that whether the passengers carried in the buses involved in the above said appeal are individually fare paid passengers travelling for their own purpose are whether carrying of such passengers constitute to be a vehicle termed as a Stage Carriage or whether the tax claimed by the respondent was in order. After examining the records of the respondent relating to the case it has been held that merely because individual passengers are carried in the vehicles it cannot be taxed. It may be pointed out that the appellant had produced a notification No. FTD 326 TMT 89 dated 15/19.12.1990 in the above said appeal before my predecessor in the office then which was not in force and which was superceded by Notification No. HTD 189 TMT 93 dated 22.3.1994 at the time of disposal of the appeal on 19.8.2003 and obtained the order. Hence this decision has no application to the facts of the case on hand since all the vehicles involved in the present appeals are vehicles which are covered by permits granted under S. 88(9) of the Act read with Rules 83-85 of the Rules for which no specific exemption from payment of tax has been granted by the State of Karnataka by issue of notification under S. 16(1) of Taxation Act.

23. In the light my above discussions, I hold that there is no merit in any of the contentions urged by the appellant and there is no reason to interfere with the impugned orders of respondent and respondent was justified in demanding the tax. Hence, I proceed to pass the following:

ORDER

The appeals stand dismissed.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner Mr S V Krishnaswamy has submitted that the tax exemption Notification dated 22.3.1994 which applies to the present assessee Corporation for the period in question for which payment of tax has been demanded viz., 2006-07, does not contain any such restriction about the type of permit held by the petitioner Corporation and on the other hand, on the basis of a reciprocal arrangement, the State of Karnataka in exercise of its power under S. 16(1) of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957, has exempted the ITDC, State Road Transport Corporation and Tourism Development Corporations like the petitioner, from payment of tax under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act of 1957. He urged that the proviso of that Notification dated 22.3.1994, admittedly, does not cover the case of the present petitioner as petitioner APTDC has not plied the buses in question on special permits under S.88(8) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. He, therefore, submitted that on a misreading of the clear provisions of the Notification dated 22.3.1994, the respondent Deputy Commissioner ha