TATA ENGINEERING & LOCOMOTIVE CO. LTD. vs THE SALES TAX OFFICER & REGIONAL TRANSPORTOFFICER, POONA AN

The Supreme Court held that the transport service provided by a company to its employees, registered as a 'private service vehicle', does not qualify as a public service vehicle under the Bombay Motor Vehicles (Taxation on Passengers) Act, 1958. The Court emphasized that the Act's Preamble indicates the tax is applicable only to public service vehicles, and since the transport was exclusively for employees, it fell outside the taxing provisions of Section 3 of the Act. Consequently, the levy of passenger tax was deemed invalid, and the appeals were allowed.