Supreme Court Dismisses Pleas on State Border Taxes; Petitioners Directed to Approach High Courts

The Supreme Court has dismissed pleas challenging state border taxes and authorization fees, directing petitioners to seek relief from their jurisdictional high courts. Transporters and tour operators alleged violations of the All India Tourist Vehicles (Permit) Rules, 2023, and sought refunds for levies collected. The Court emphasized that state laws were not under challenge.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled on a series of petitions challenging the legality of state governments collecting border taxes and authorization fees. The petitioners have been granted the liberty to approach their jurisdictional high courts for relief.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the pleas filed by various transporters and tour operators, who claimed that the border tax/authorization fee was collected in violation of the All India Tourist Vehicles (Permit) Rules, 2023.

The Supreme Court emphasized that the petitioners need to challenge the state provisions contained in the respective Acts to succeed, and noted that the tax already recovered would be subject to the outcome of petitions filed in high courts. The Court made it clear that it did not examine the merits of the arguments or the legality of the states' demands.

(With inputs from agencies.)