Bombay Sales Tax Act (XXIV of 1952). ss. 2 (14), 5, 6, 7, 11 -Bombay Sales Tax Rules, 1952, 11, 5, 6-State law imposing sales tax-Validity-Power of States to levy tax on inter-State sales -Limitations-Rules-Whether form part of Act-Constitution of India, 1950, arts. 286 (Z) and (2), 14, 301, 304, 226 -Meaning and scope of art. 286 (1) and art. 286 (2)-Application under art. 226 -Duty of High Court to find whether fundamental rights have been infringed

The Legislature of Bombay passed an Act entitled the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1952, which imposed (by s. 5) a general tax on every dealer whose turnover in Respect of sales within the State of Bombay during the prescribed period exceeded Rs. 30,000 and (by s. 10) a special tax on every dealer whose turnover in respect of sales of special goods made within the State of Bombay exceeded Rs. 5,000 during the prescribed period. 'the term 'sale' was defined [in s. 2 (14)] as meaning any transfer of property in goods for cash or deferred payment or other valuable consideration, and an Explanation to this definition provided the; the sale of any goods which have actually been delivered in the State of Bombay as a direct result of such sale for the purpose of consumption in the said State shall be deemed, for the purposes of the Act, to have taken place in the said State irrespective of the fact that the property in the goods has any reason of such sale, passed in another state. Rules 5 and 6 of the Bombay Sales Tax Rules, 1952, which were brought into force on the same day on which ss. 5 and 10 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act came into force provided for the deduction of the following sales in calculating the taxable turnover, viz., sales which take place (a) in the course of the The  import of the goods into, or the export of the goods out of, the motor(India) territory of India, and (b) in the course of inter-State trade or Ltd. and Other- commerce (being the two kinds of sales referred to cl. (l)(b) and cl. (2) respectively of art. 286 of the Constitution). Rule 5 (2) (i), however, required, as a condition of the aforesaid deductions, though , the goods should be consigned by a railway, shipping or aircraft company or country boat registered for carrying cargo or public motor transport service or by registered post. In an application under art. 2% of the Constitution challenging the validity of the Act and praying inter alia for a writ against the State of Bombay and the Collector of Sales Tax, Bombay, restraining them from enforcing the provisions of the Act, the High Court of Bombay held that the definition of 'sale' in the Act was so wide as to include the three categories of sale exempted by art. 286 of the Constitution from the imposition of tax by the States, and as the Act imposed a tax on all such sales, it was wholly void. On appeal