Law:

Section:

Sales-tax Act (II of 1951)----   ----Operation continued after 31-3-52 -Permanent Statute-History of Legislation on "Taxes on Sale of Goods".   Mst. Momma Khatoon v. Government of Pakistan and another P L D 1958 Kar. 530, and Messrs Khaliq and Najam Company v. Sales Tax Officer, B- Ward, Lahore P L D 1959 Lah. 915 ref. JUDGMENT   WAHEDUDDIN AHMAD, J.-This order will dispose of Writ Petitions Nos. 615 of 1962 and 621 of 1962 in which a common question of law is raised.   In both the cases the petitioners have sought to challenge validity of the Sales TaxAct of 1951. In the first writ petition, Messrs Sharif Cotton Factory are aggrieved by the demand of Sales Tax under sections 10 and 12 of the above mentioned Act for the years 1956-57 to 1961-62. In the second writ petition Messrs Noor Cotton Factory are also aggrieved by the demand of sales tax for the period from the 1st of April 1957 to the 31st of March 1958.   Mr. Syed Ali Raza, the learned counsel for the petitioners, has urged that the demandof the sales tax from the petitioners for the above-mentioned period is illegal because the Sales Tax Act of 1951, under which it is claimed, is no longer in operation in Pakistan. The learned counsel contended that the notice of demand issued by the respondents in both the cases is ultra vires, without legal sanction and without jurisdiction. It was contended by him that the Sales Tax Act of 1951 ceased to have any effect after the 31st of March 1952 and the respondents are not competent to demand any sales tax from the petitioners.   This contention does not appear to us to be well-founded. The Sales Tax Act of 1951 was enacted in the year 1951 by the Federal Legislature. It is not disputed that at the material time the said Legislature had jurisdiction to enact this legislation. The only contention raised before us is that at the time when the above-mentioned enactment was passed, the Federal Legislature was empowered to legislate on the subject of "taxes on sale of goods" upto the 31st of March 1952 and therefore this legislation was of a temporary nature and ceased to have any effect after the said date.  …