SC upholds constitutional validity of Goods Entry Tax

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that since GST has passed, the issue of entry tax should be resolved according to GST

The constitutional validity of Entry Tax imposed by States on goods coming in from other states was upheld by the a nine judge Constitution Bench of Supreme Court.

Entry tax is imposed by many state governments on the movement of goods from one state to another. It is levied by the state that receives goods.

The bench was handling 2,000 cases filed by various companies against the states levying tax on the movement of goods. They argued that the tax levied was against the concept of free trade. 

The nine-judge constitution bench comprises of Chief Justice T S Thakur and justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde, Shiva Kirti Singh, N V Ramana, R Banumathi, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan.

 

Advocating for the centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that since GST has passed, the issue of entry tax should be resolved according to that and the Supreme Court should not intervene.

However, the SC said there are far too many cases pending and they need to be taken care of first. 

Companies argued that removing entry tax laws would make way for the Goods and Services Tax and its enforcement. 

On the other hand, states said that their sovereign right to tax the movement of good should not be taken away. States said it was their Constitutional right to pass laws on subjects mentioned in 'State List' and 'Concurrent List'.