( 1 ) THE petitioner is a registered Association of the stamp vendors of Ahmedabad. As the Officers of the Income Tax Department called upon the State Government to deduct tax-at-source under Section 194h of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") on commission or brokerage to the persons carrying on the business as stamp vendors, the petitioner-Association has approached this Court with a prayer to quash and set aside the communication at Annexure d collectively, and for a declaration that Section 194-H of the Act is not applicable to an assessee carrying on business as a stamp vendor.

( 2 ) IN response to the notice, an affidavit-in-reply has been filed by the Commissioner of Income tax, Ahmedabad-II for justifying the invocation of Section 194-H of the Act.

( 3 ) BY the Finance Act, 2001, Section 194-H was inserted in the Act with effect from 1. 6. 2001. The Section reads as under : Commission or brokerage. 194h. Any person, not being an individual or a Hindu undivided family, who is responsible for paying, on or after the 1st day of June, 2001, to a resident, any income by way of commission (not being insurance commission referred to in sec