The Judgment of the court was delivered by

SETH, J. - The petitioners carry on business of manufacture and sale of biscuits at Kanpur. By notifications dated 1st July, 1968, and 18th August 1967, issued under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, cooked food, including sweetmeats and confectionery, other than sold in sealed or tinned containers, were made liable to sales tax at the rate of two per cent. For the assessment years 1966-67 and 1967-68 the petitioners were assessed to sales tax on the turnover of biscuits at the rate of two per cent treating the item as cooked food. On 1st July, 1969, a notification under section 3-A of the Act was issued under which sweetmeats and confectionery, when sold in sealed or tinned containers, were made liable to tax at six per cent while sweetmeats and confectionery sold otherwise than in sealed or tinned containers, were liable to tax at three per cent. Cooked food sold in any form continued to be taxed at the rate of two per cent. Subsequently by a notification dated 15th November, 1971, issued under section 3-A of the Act, the rate of tax on sweetmeats and confectionery other than those sold in sealed or tinned containers, was enhanced to thre