The Himachal Pradesh Motor Spirit (Taxation of Sales) (Amendment) Act, 1983

1. (1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Motor Spirit (Taxation of Sales) (Amendment) Act, 1992.
2. (2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

In the Himachal Pradesh Motor Spirit (Taxation of Sales) Act, 1968 (10 of 1968) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in the long title and the principal Act, the word “retail”, wherever occurring, shall be omitted.

In section 2 of the principal Act,—

1. (a) before clause (b), the following shall be inserted, namely:— "(a) "Government" means the Government of Himachal Pradesh:";
2. (b) in clause (e), the word "Assistant" shall be omitted;
3. (c) for clause (g), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-- "(g) "dealer" means any person who, on commission or otherwise, sells motor spirit to any person or keeps motor spirit for sale;";
4. (d) clause
   • (i) shall be omitted;
5. (e) for clause (k), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— "(k) "Commissioner" means the Excise and Taxation Commissioner appointed under sub-section

1. (1) of section 20; and.".

In section 3 of the principal Act,—

1. (a) in sub-section (1), for the word "five", the word "six" shall be substituted; and
2. (b) after sub-section (2), the following sub-sections

1. (3) and
2. (4) shall be added, namely:— "(3) The Government may, by notification, direct that with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, the tax under sub-section
3. (1) shall be levied at the first stage of the sale of motor spirit and on the issue of such notification, the tax on the sale of motor spirit shall be levied accordingly: Provided that no sale of such motor spirit at a subsequent stage shall be exempt from tax under this Act unless the dealer effecting the sale at such subsequent stage furnishes to the Petrol Taxation Officer in the prescribed form and manner a certificate duly filled in and signed by the dealer from whom the motor spirit was purchased to the effect that the tax on such motor spirit has been paid at the first stage.
4. (4) For the purposes of this section, the first stage of sale shall be such as the Government may, by notification, specify."

For section 4 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:--- "4. Recovery of taxes as arrears of land revenue.—The amount of any tax and penalty imposed or interest payable under this Act, which remains unpaid after the due date, shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue."

For section 5 of the principal Act, the following shall be substituted, namely :— "5. Security from certain class of dealers.—(1) The Commissioner, or any Petrol Taxation Officer or any other person appointed to assist the Commissioner under sub-section

1. (1) of section 20, if it appears to him to be necessary so to do for the proper realisation of the tax levied under this Act, may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, impose as a condition of the issue of a licence to a dealer, or of the continuance in effect of such licence issued to any dealer, a requirement that the dealer shall give security in the manner prescribed for such amount as may be specified in the order.
2. (2) No dealer shall be required to furnish security under sub-section (1), unless he has been given an opportunity of being heard and the security that may be required to be furnished by any dealer under the aforesaid sub-section shall be to the satisfaction of the authority mentioned in sub-section (1).
3. (3) Where the security furnished by a dealer under sub-section
4. (1) is in the form of a surety bond and the surety becomes insolvent or is otherwise incapacitated or dies or withdraws, the dealer shall, within fifteen days of the occurrence of any of the aforesaid events, inform the authority granting the licence and shall within thirty days of such occurrence furnish a fresh surety bond.
5. (4) The authority granting the licence may, by an order in writing, for good and sufficient cause, forfeit the whole or any part of the security furnished by a dealer for realising any amount of tax or penalty payable by a dealer: Provided that no order shall be passed under this sub-section without giving the dealer and the surety a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
6. (5) Where by reason of an order under sub-section (4), the security furnished by a dealer is rendered insufficient, he shall make up the deficiency in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed.
7. (6) The authority granting a licence may, on application by the dealer, order the refund of security furnished by him or any part thereof, if the same is not required for the purposes of this Act".

After section 5 of the principal Act, the following sections 5-A, 5-B, 5-C and 5-D shall be inserted, namely:— "5-A. Payment of tax and returns.—(1) Tax payable under the Act shall be paid in the manner hereinafter provided at such intervals as may be prescribed.

1. (2) Every dealer shall furnish such returns by such dates and to such authority as may be prescribed.
2. (3) Before a dealer furnishes the return required by sub-section (2), he shall, in the prescribed manner, pay into a Government Treasury or the State Bank of India, or at the office of Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner or Excise and Taxation Officer-in-charge of the District, the full amount of tax due from him under the Act according to such [text cut off in source]"

For section 20 of the principal Act, the following shall be substituted, namely :- "20. Taxing authorities.—(1) For carrying out the purposes of this Act, the Government may appoint a person to be Excise and Taxation Commissioner, and such other persons, including a Petrol Taxation Officer, to assist him as it thinks fit.

1. (2) Persons appointed under sub-section
2. (1) shall exercise such powers as may be conferred, and perform such duties as may be required, by or under this Act.
3. (3) All persons appointed under sub-section
4. (1) shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Code 45 of 1860)".

For sub-section

1. (3) of section 22 of the principal Act, the following sub-sections (3),
2. (4) and
3. (5) shall be substituted, namely :- "(3) The Commissioner may, of his own motion, call for the record of any proceedings which are pending before, or have been disposed of by, any authority subordinate to him for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such proceedings or order made in and may pass such order in relation thereto as he may think fit.
4. (4) The Government may, by notification, confer on any officer the powers of the Commissioner to be exercised under sub-section
5. (1) subject to such conditions and in respect of such areas as may be specified in the notification.
6. (5) No order shall be passed under this section which adversely affects any person unless such person has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.".

In sub-section

1. (2) of the principal Act—
   • (a) after clause (a), the following clause
   • (aa) shall be inserted; namely.— "(aa) prescribing the form and the manner in which a certificate is to be furnished by the dealer under sub-section
2. (3) of section 3 shall be furnished;"; and
   • (b) the clauses
   • (g) and
   • (h) shall be re-numbered as clauses
   • (m) and
   • (n) and before clauses
   • (m) and
   • (n) so re-numbered, the following clauses (g), (h), (i), (j),
   • (k) and
   • (l) shall be inserted, namely:— "(g) prescribing the manner in which security shall be furnished under section 5 ;
   • (h) prescribing the manner and intervals and the authority to which such returns are to be furnished under sub-sections
3. (1) and
4. (2) of section 5-A, together with the manner of payment of tax under sub-sections
5. (3) and
6. (4) of that section;
   • (i) prescribing the manner of service of notice, the manner of payment of tax, penalty or interest under sub-sections
7. (2) and
8. (7) of section 5-B ;
   • (j) prescribing the authority and the manner for the refund of tax under section 5-D ;
   • (k) prescribing registers for maintaining the day-to-day accounts of the business of a dealer and the manner of authentication of account books under clause
   • (c) of sub-sectoin
9. (1) of section 9-A;
   • (l) prescribing the manner of setting up check posts or erecting barriers and preventing evasion of tax and the documents to be carried and produced under sub-section
10. (2) of section 9-B;".