M.C. DESAI, C.J. : This is an appeal from a judgment of Brijlal Gupta, J. dismissing the appellants' petition for certiorari to quash assessment orders under the U.P. Sales Tax Act for the assessment years 1950-51 to 1955-56 and proceedings for realisation of the tax assessed for the years and mandamus calling upon the Sales Tax Officer and the Collector of Aligarh not to enforce the assessment orders the demand notices and the certificates of recover. The appellants are manufacturers of, and dealers ins cotton yarn and cloth upto 31-3-1954 they formed a partnership and the partnership manufactured and dealt in cotton yarn and cloth Section 3 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act has been amended several times. As originals enacted the section laid down that subject to the provisions of the Act every dealer would pay on turnover of each assessment year a tax at a certain rate. The suction as amended by Act No. VIII of 1954 provided that subject to the provisions of the Act every dealer would in each assessment year pay a tax at a certain rate on his turnover of the previous year to be determined in the prescribed manner Section 3-A was added by Act No. 15 of 1948 and has been amended several times. As originally enacted it provided that notwithstanding anything contained in S. 3 "the State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare that the proceeds of sale of any goods shall not be included in the turnover of any dealer except at such single point in the series of sales by successive dealers as may be prescribed" and that "if the State Government makes a declaration . . . . . it may further declare that the turnover of the dealer . . . . . . in respect of such sale, be taxed at such rate as may be specified" "Prescribed" is defined in the Act to mean "prescribed by rules made under the Act."

Section 24 lays down that the State Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of the Act and in particular to provide For all matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed"; the rules must be made after previous publication for a period of not less than four weeks, be published in the Gazette and be laid for fourteen days before the legislature as soon as possible after they are made and be subject to such modification as the legislature may make during the session in which they were laid; see Sub-Sections (3), (4) and (5). On 8-6-1948 the State Government issued a notification No. ST. 117/X-923-1948 laying down that in exercise of the powers conferred by S. 3-A the Governor had declared that proceeds of sale of cotton yarn and cotton cloth manufactured by mills in U.P. would be subject to sales tax at tine point of sale by the manufacturer and at the rate of six pies per rupee. The notification was published in the official Gazette. The State Government did not make any rules under S. 24 prescribing that proceeds of sale of these goods would be taxed at the point of sale by the manufacturer. It could issue a notification that proceeds of sale of certain goods would not be taxed except at such single point in the aeries of sales us may be prescribed and also specify the rate of tax, but it could prescribe the single point in the series of sales by a rule and not by a notification. Its prescribing the single point in the series of sales namely the sale by the manufacturer by a notification was, therefore, null and void. If the prescribing of the single point was null and void, specifying the rate became ineffective. This was realised by the legislature and by S. 4 of Act No. 40 of 1952 it amended S. 3-A. Section 4 is to the effect that in S. 3-A "for the words "as may be prescribed" the words 'as the State Government may specify' shall be and be deemed always to have been substituted". The effect of the amendment was that it was not necessary for the State Government to make a rule prescribing the single point in the series of sales and that it could specify it in the notification. Had the a