The High Court of Karnataka has struck down the new rule enacted to collect ₹70 per tonne from persons who transport processed building stone materials such as aggregates or jelly, size stones, boulders, M-sand, and other varieties from other States with a valid permit.
The court held that under neither Section 15 nor Section 23-C of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 was power vested on the State government to make up rules for regulating the entry and to levy fee on entry of lawfully excavated minerals from other States.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty delivered the verdict striking down the Rules 42(7) of the Karnataka Minor Mineral Concession (Amendment) Rules, 2020, which came into force from June 30 last year. Sri Sai Keshava Enterprises and 37 others, who are engaged in the business of stone crushing and manufacture of M-sand in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, the Karnataka Tipper Lorry Owners’ Association, and others had questioned the legality of the rule.
The Bench observed that the State government did not have authority under Section 23C of the 1957 Act to make rules for the regulation of transport of legally excavated minerals from other States.
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