The court held that assessments made after the statutory period and without following proper procedures violate principles of natural justice and jurisdiction under the Telangana Agricultural Produce & Live Stock Markets Act.

ORDER :

T. Madhavi Devi, J.

In these Writ Petitions, the petitioners are challenging the assessment of the market fees payable by the petitioners on purchase of rice/paddy from outside the State for the assessment years 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional, without power, without jurisdiction and contrary to the provisions of the Telangana (Agricultural Produce & Live Stock) Markets Act, 1966 and the Rules made thereunder and also challenging the order dt.28.06.2024 rejecting the renewal of trade licences of the petitioners as illegal and arbitrary and to set aside the same and consequently direct the respondents to renew the trade licences of the petitioners for a further period of three years from 2024 to 2027 and to pass such other order or orders.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present Writ Petitions are that the petitioners are licence holders who are dealing with agricultural produce and claim to be paying necessary market fees by producing relevant records. It is submitted that the petitioners have been purchasing rice from outside the State of Telangana, i.e., Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and the 3^rd respondent in W.P.Nos.13907, 13909, 13914, 13915, 13946 and 13968 of 2024 has been exempting the petitioners from payment of market fees on purchase of rice/paddy from outside the State and export to other countries in terms of G.O.Ms.No.96, Agriculture and Cooperation (AM-IV) Department, dt.19.10.2013 and also in terms of the Circular No. Projects/38/2005 dt.28.11.2013 of the 2^nd respondent.

3. It is submitted that, for the first time, the 3^rd respondent in W.P.Nos.13907, 13909, 13914, 13915, 13946 and 13968 of 2024 has assessed the market fees on the rice purchased from other States for the assessment years 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 contrary to the instructions of the 1^st and 2^nd respondents. It is submitted that Sections 12(1) and 12(B) of the Telangana (Agricultural Produce & Live Stock) Markets Act, 1966 (for short, “the Act”) provide for charging and levying of market fee on the notified agricultural produce and that the 3^rd respondent in W.P.Nos.13907, 13909, 13914, 13915, 13946 and 13968 of 2024 shall assess the market fee only on purchase or sale of the agricultural produce in the notified market area. It is submitted that under Section 12-B of the Act, only if the return submitted by the assessee is incorrect or incomplete, the assessing authority shall, after giving the trader an opportunity of providing the correctness and completeness of the return submitted by him and after making such enquiry as it considers necessary, assess to the best of its judgment, the amount of market fee, due from the trader. It is submitted that the assessment under this Section shall, however, be made only within a period of three (3) years from the expiry of the years to which the assessment relates. It is submitted that in this case, the assessments are made for the year 2020-2021 in the year 2024 i.e., after expiry of three (3) years to which the assessments relate and further that no documents were called for from the petitioners before making the assessment. Therefore, according to the petitioners, the assessment is not only without jurisdiction but also is in violation of the principles of natural justice and the guidelines issued therefor.

4. At the time of admission of the Writ Petitions, this Court had directed the respondents not to take any coercive steps for implementation of the impugned assessment orders.

5. The 3^rd respondent in W.P.Nos.13907, 13909, 13914