NASIR ASLAM ZAHID, J.--1. This judgment will dispose of Constitutional Petitions Nos. D-3/82 and D- 361/82 as the points involved in both these petitions filed against the Central Excise and Land Customs Authorities are the same. These Petitions involve the consideration and interpretation of two notifications issued by the Government of Pakistan relating to levy of sales tax on cassettes.
We have heard Mr. Iqbal Nadeem Pasha learned counsel for the petitioner in Constitutional Petition No. D. 31/82, Mr. Kanwar Mukhtar Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner in Constitutional Petition No. D-361/82 and Mr. Syed Inayat Ali, who has appeared on behalf of the respondents in both the Petitions.
2. The first Notification is S.R.O. 666(I)/81, dated 25th June, 1981 issued under section 7 of the Sales Tax Act, 1981. By the said Notification, dated 25th June, 1981, the Federal Government exempted certain goods produced or manufactured in Pakistan including the following: "S. No.______ Description of good
76. Cassettes for sound recorders and recording recitation from the Holy Qur'an falling under heading No. 92.11." According to the petitioners, by virtue of the above- mentioned Notification dated 25th June, 1981, all cassettes for sound-recorders produced or manufactured in Pakistan were exempted from sales tax. The interpretation of the department on the other had is that only such cassettes which had recordings of recitation from the Holy Qur'an were exempted from sales tax and all other cassettes were subject to sales tax.
3. During November and December, 1981, the staff of the Central Excise and Land Customs Authorities seized a large number of assembled and non-assembled cassettes belonging to the petitioners in these two petitions inter alia on the ground that the petitioners were required to pay sales tax on such cassettes. Constitutional Petition No. D-3/82 was filed in this Court on 29th December, 1981 and it was admitted to regular hearing by order dated 28th January, 1982. After the admission of Constitutional Petition No. D-3/82. Notification S.R.O. 103(I)/82, dated 2nd February, 1982 was issued by the Government of Pakistan purporting to exercise powers conferred by section 7 of the Sales Tax Act, 1951. According to this second Notification, amendments were made in the earlier notification and it was provided that the amendment 'shall be deemed to always have been so made'. The relevant amendment that was made by the second notification was that for serial No. 76 in entry relating thereto in column 2, the following was substituted: "Sound-recorded cassettes of a recitation from Holy Quran within the heading 92.12.
4. It may-be observed that the second notification dated 2nd February, 1982 makes it abundantly clear that the exemption from sales tax was restricted to sound recorded cassettes of recitation from Holy Quran only and other sound recorded cassettes which did not have the recording of recitation from Holy Quran were not exempted from sales tax.
The Notification dated 2nd February, 1982 as observed earlier, provides that the amendment in the Notification dated 25th June, 1981 shall be with retrospective effect. If in law retrospective effect can be given to a notification by the notification itself, as was purported to be done by the Notification dated 2nd February, 1982 petitioners will have no case, as then all sound-recorded cassettes, except those which had the recording of recitation from the Holy Quran will be subject to sales tax even prior to 2nd February, 1982 and at the time cassettes of the petitioners were seized by the Central Excise and Land Customs Authorities. No provision of the Sales Tax Act confers any power upon the Federal Government to issue a notification with retrospective effect. The law is clear on the point that an authority, which has been conferred the power of issuing notification in the nature of delegated legislation, is not competent to give retrospective effect to such notification. We may, therefore, observe that the Notification dated 25th June, 1982 cannot be given retrospective effect although the said notification provides so.
5. The fate of these petitions is, therefore, to be decided on the basis of the first Notification dated 25th June, 1981. According to Mr. Iqbal Naim Pasha and Mr. Kanwar Mukhtar Ahmad, the relevant entry in the Notification dated 25th June, 1981 accords exemption from the sales tax to two categories of cassettes. One category of cassettes, according to the learned counsel for the petitioners, is cassettes for sound-recorders and the other category of cassettes is those cassettes, whether audio-visual or sound, which have recordings of recitation from the Holy Qur'an. On the other had Mr. Syed Inayat Ali, learned counsel appearing for the Department contended that the only cassettes which were exempted from sales-tax under the Notification dated 25th June, 1981, are those cassettes for sound recorders, which had recording of recitation from the Holy Qur'an.
6. If the interpretation sought to be placed upon the , relevant entry in the first Notification dated 25th June, 1981 by the learned counsel for the Petitioners is to be accepted the relevant entry will cover two categories. According to the learned counsel for the Petitioners the first category is 'cassettes for sound-recorder' and second category is 'cassettes, audio-visual or sound-recording recitations from Holy Qur'an'. The contention of the learned counsel for the Petitioners was : that these two categories are spelt out from the language , employed in the Notification dated 25th June, 1981. According to the learned counsel for the petitioners the word 'cassettes' in the relevant entry of the first notification includes reference to cassettes that is the audio-visual cassettes used in pavers recorders, and therefore, it was contended that the first part of the relevant entry in the first notification I related to cassettes for sound-recorders and the second part of | the relevant entry related to all types of cassettes, whether sound or audio-visual, which had recording of recitations from the Holy Qur'an. The argument on its face appeared to be attractive but we have not been able to accept the same. If the intention was to exempt from sales-tax all types of cassettes for sound-recorders, there was no need to provide for sound cassettes with recording of recitations from the Holy Qur'an, as cassettes for sound recorders would include all types of cassettes for sound-recorders including sound cassettes with recording of recitation from the Holy Quran. Therefore, if the intention was that all types of cassettes for sound-recorders were exempted and also audio-visual cassettes recording recitations from Holy Qur'an the relevant entry would have read as follows:- "Cassettes for sound-recorders and audio-visual cassettes recording recitation from Holy Qur'an."
In or view, in the relevant entry the reference to cassettes is only to cassettes for sound-recorders and the word 'cassettes' used in the said entry does not include audio-visual cassettes. We are further of the view that the intention by the Notification dated 25th June, 1981 was that only cassettes for sound-recorders which had the recording of recitations from Holy Quran were to be exempted. The relevant entry no doubt has been unhappily worded. Nonetheless, the intention was to exempt only sound-cassettes which had the recording of recitations from Holy Qur'an. In or view, the word "and" in the relevant entry is redundant and is to be ignored. We read the relevant entry as follows:-- The cassettes for sound-recorders recording recitations from Holy Quran falling under heading No. 92.11".
As we have come to the conclusion that the relevant entry in the Notification dated 25th June, 1981 exempted from sales-tax only those sound-cassettes which had the recording of recitations from Holy Qur'an, these petitions fail. Constitutional Petitions Nos. D-3 of 1982 and D-361 of 1982 are dismissed but there will be no order as to costs.