S.N.P. Singh, J.

The petitioner is a company having its registered office at Jhumritilaiya in the district of Hazaribagh. The company is engaged in the manufacture of micanite products. It purchases denatured spirit from the who1esellers or the manufacturers for the purpose of manufacturing micanite. In this writ application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the validity of Rule 111 of the Rules framed by the Board of Revenue, Bihar, by which license fee has been levied at the rate of 0.55 paise per litre for the possession and import of denatured spirit.

2. The Bihar and Orissa Excise Act, 1915 (Bihar and Orissa Act II of 1915) came into force on the 19th January, 1916. In pursuance of the provisions of the Act, rules were made both by the Provincial Government and the Board of Revenue for the levy of excise duty and license fee. Fees payable on licenses for wholesale vend of denatured spirit, for the retail sale of denatured spirit and for possession of such spirit in excess of the limit of retail sale, were prescribed in Rule 111 of the Rules. The fee for the licence to possess denatured spirit in 1919 was only Rs. 2/-