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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
ANANT RAMANATH HEGDE
Sona Synthetics – Appellant
Versus
State of Karnataka – Respondent
ORDER :
1. The questions that arose in these two writ petitions are:
(i) Whether the supply of electricity to ensure minimum demand, without actual consumption of electricity, amounts to consumption or sale and enables the State to levy tax on the tariff for the supply of electricity?
(ii) Whether Section 3 (1) of the Karnataka Electricity (Taxation on Consumption) Act, 1959 (For short ‘Act, 1959’) as amended by Amending Act 7 of 2003 and Amending Act 5 of 2004 imposing tax on electricity charges ultravires?
2. During the pendency of the writ petitions, in terms of Act No.24 of 2018, Section 3 (1) of the Act, 1959, is amended, and by reason of amendment, the tax is levied only on ‘sale and consumption of electricity’. The tax on ‘electricity charges’ imposed under the impugned provisions on supply of electricity, was done away in 2018 amendment vide Act No.24 of 2018.
3. Since the petitioners had questioned the tax on electricity charges, and because of the amendment during pendency of writ petitions, tax on electricity charges on supply is done away, the State contends that the petitioners’ challenge that the provisions are ultravires becomes academic, and writ petitions have become in
Tax cannot be imposed on electricity supplied but not consumed as it does not equate to sale, violating legislative competence under Entry No. 53, List II of the Seventh Schedule.
(1) When a right is created by a statute which itself prescribes remedy or procedure for enforcing right or liability, resort must be had to that particular statutory remedy before invoking discretio....
Amendments to taxation statutes cannot change their fundamental basis without corresponding amendments to the charging provisions, which must be clear and unambiguous to avoid excessive delegation of....
The court upheld the increased electricity duty as legal, distinguishing between tariff and duty, affirming legislative competence for revenue augmentation while rejecting claims of discrimination un....
Even bare consumption of electricity energy by a person who generates the same is permissible to be taxed by reference to Entry 53 of the State List.
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