CRE Moot Problem -01

Kanji Lal is a dealer in tobacco and has his place of business at Ratlam. He purchases and
sells tobacco used for eating, smoking and for preparing cigarettes. He gets his tobacco
locally or imports it from other parts of India. The Madhya Pradesh State enacted in 1950
The Madhya Pradesh Sales Tax Act (Act 30 of 1950) which came into force on May 1,
1950. Under s. 3 of the Act every dealer whose business in the previous year in respect of
sales or supplies of goods exceeded in the case of an, importer and manufacturer Rs. 5,000
and in other cases Rs. 12,000 had to pay tax in respect of sales or supplies of goods effected
in Madhya Bharat from 1st May 1950. Under s. 5, the: tax was a single point tax and it was
provided that the Government might by a notification specify the point of the sales at which
the tax was payable. The section also fixed the minimum and maximum rates of tax leaving it
to Government to notify the actual rate.
Government, in pursuance of this power, issued a number of notifications. All these
notifications imposed tax at different rates on tobacco above described on the importer that is
to say at the point of import. The tax was not levied on sale or purchase of tobacco of similar
kind in Madhya Pradesh. The tax was collected by the authorities in varying amounts from
Kanji Lal for different quarters. Kanji Lal served notices under s. 80 of the Code of Civil
Procedure and files the present suit for refund of the tax on the ground that it was illegally
collected from them being against the constitutional prohibition in Art. 301 and not saved
under Art. 304(a) of the Constitution.
The suit is opposed by the State on the ground that such a suit was barred by the provisions of
s. 17 of the Act which provides:
"17. Bar to certain proceedings. - No assessment made and no order passed under this Act or
the rules made there under by the assessing authority, appellate authority or the
Commissioner shall be called in question in any Court and no appeal or application for
revision shall lie against any such assessment or order."

You are hereby directed to contest the case between the relevant parties in the
appropriate court as per the above mentioned facts and highlight the important issues.