A Finance Act, 1950, the rules which were in force on April 1, 1950 were changed in the Cochin area by notification dated August 3, 1950 and the system of auction sales of A class and B class shops was done away with and instead graded licence fees were introduced for various classes of licensees, including C class licensees. Similar change was made for the Travancore area. Notification dated January 25, 1951 was issued in this context. A class licensees under the new rules were B called stockists, B class licensees were wholesale sellers and C class licensees were retailers. A class licensees were to pay a specified minimum fee for a fixed maximum quantity of tobacco and tobacco goods possessed by them and an additional fee for an additional quantity. The fee was to be levied only in respect of the tobacco imported into the State. The State of Travancore-Cochin collected licence fee from the appellants for the period from August 17, 1950 to December 31, 1957. c In 1956 the appellants, who'were A class licensees, filed writ petitions in Kerala High Court for refund of the licence fee collected from them on the ground that t~e Cochin and Travancore Tobacco Acts stood repealed by the Finance Act of 1950 because of the extension of the Central Excises and Salt Act to Part B State of Travancore-Cochin. The petitions were opposed on behalf of the State and it was contended that the Cochin Act or the similar Travancore Act did not stand repealed D from April 1, 1950. It was urged that the State was competent to frame new rules under the Cochin Tobacco Act and the corresponding fravancore Act. It was further stated that the tax in question could be validly levied under entry 60 or 62 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The High Court dismissed the petitions holding that the laws under which the new rules were framed were in force and were valid under entry 62 of List II of the Seventh Schedule. The E appellants then came up in appeal to this Court. It was held by this Court in its judgment dated January 24, 1962 reported in (1962) Supp. 2 SCR 741 that the Cochin Tobacco Act of 1084 and the rules framed thereunder as also similar provisions in Travancore, requiring licences to be taken out for storage and sale of tobacco and for payment of licepce fee in respect thereof were law corresponding to the provisions of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 and hence stood F repealed on April 1, 1950 by virtue of section 13 (2) of the Finance Act, 1950. It was further held that as the parent Acts, namely, the Cochin Tobacco Act and corresponding Travancore Act had· stood repealed, the new rules framed in August 1950 a!nd January 1951 under those Acts for the respective areas of Cochin and Travancore for the issue of licences and payment of fee therefor for storage of tobacco were invalid ab initio.
