Judgment :- 1. The petitioner is the registered owner of a goods vehicle KLE.1357. He purchased another goods vehicle KLE. 2040, and he applied for the transfer of its registration in his name. The application was not granted by the second respondent, the Regional Transport Officer, Ernakulam, on the ground that the transfer cannot be effected without paying a sum of Rs. 1,125/-said to be the tax payable in respect of the vehicle for the period from 1-7-1967 to 31-12-1969 under the Kerala Motor Vehicles (Taxation of Passengers and Goods) Act, 1963, hereinafter referred to as the TPG. Act. Ext. P1 dated 19 91970 is a copy of the endorsement which the second respondent made on the Registration Certificate of this vehicle, when the petitioner produced the certificate before the second respondent along with his application for transfer of registration. The petitioner contends that the above vehicles are "light motor vehicles" as defined in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, which does not ply for hire or reward and the tax under the TPG. Act is not attracted in respect of such vehicles. He has filed this Original Petition to restrain the respondents, the first respondent being the State of Kerala, from levying the said tax in respect of his vehicles. 2. The petitioner's vehicles are goods vehicles as denned in the TPG. Act. The laden weight of these vehicles are below 4000 Kgs., and they are, therefore, light motor vehicles as defined in S.2 (13) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. S.42 (1) of the Motor Vehicles Act provides that no owner of a transport vehicle shall use or permit the use of the vehicle in any public place except in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted by the Regional, or State Transport Authority. Sub-section (3) of S.42 exempts certain transport vehicles from the said obligation. One of those vehicles is light motor vehicle, which does not ply for hire or reward. The petitioner's vehicles do not, therefore, require permits. 3. S.3 of the TPG. Act is the charging section. It reads. "Levy of Tax on Passengers and Goods. Sub-section (3) of S.42 exempts certain transport vehicles from the said obligation. One of those vehicles is light motor vehicle, which does not ply for hire or reward. The petitioner's vehicles do not, therefore, require permits. 3. S.3 of the TPG. Act is the charging section. It reads. "Levy of Tax on Passengers and Goods. (I) On and from the date of Commencement of this Act, there shall be levied a tax on all passengers, luggage and goods carried by stage carriages and on all goods transported by goods vehicles at the following rates namely: (a) in the case of stage carriages, 10 paise in the rupee on the fares and freights payable to the operators of such carriages; (b) in the case of public carrier vehicles, 5 paise in the rupee on the freights payable to the operators of such vehicles; (c) in the case of private carrier vehicles, 2 paise per tonne kilometre of the goods-Provided that in the case of all goods transported by goods vehicles for export out of the territory of India, no tax under this section shall be payable: Provided further that no tax shall be levied on any passenger, luggage or goods carried in a stage carriage, if the total distance permitted to be covered by such stage carriage in a day. does not exceed eighty kilometres-Explanation 1. Far the purpose of this proviso, "export" shall not include movements of goods from one port in the territory of India to another port in the said territory. Explanation 2. For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that (i) in respect of passengers, luggage or goods booked through over the railways and any road transport service, the tax payable under this Act shall be calculated only on the fares and freights payable on such passengers, luggage or goods for the distance on the road covered by the taxable vehicle; (ii) no tax shall be payable under this Act on goods carried by any vehicle owned by any department of the Central Government or by the Railways. (2) The tax levied under subsection (1) shall be paid by the passengers or the consignors of the goods, as the case may be, to the operators along with the fares or freights payable to the operators of the stage carriages or the goods vehicles, (3) The operator shall be liable to pay the tax levied under sub-section (1) on all passengers, luggages or goods carried by stage carriages and on all goods carried by goods vehicles of which be is the operator, to the Government in the manner provided in this Act," Under the scheme in the above provision, the tax is levied on all passengers, luggages and goods carried by stage carriages, and on all goods transported by goods vehicles vide Sub-section (1). The tax is collected from the passengers and the consignors of the goods by the operators along with the fares and freights payable to the operators vide Sub-section (2). The operator is liable to pay to the State the tax levied under Sub-section (1) on all passengers, luggages and goods carried by him in his vehicle vide Sub-section (3). S.4 empowers the prescribed officer to compound the tax payable by the operator under sub-section (3) on as application made by him for that purpose. 4. The term operator is defined under S.2 (b) of the T. P. G. Act as follows: "Operator" means any person whose name is entered in the permit as the holder thereof;" The word permit is also defined in S.2 (c) and it reads: "permit" means a permit granted or countersigned under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 [Central Act 4 of 1939], authorising the use of a vehicle as a stage carriage or as a public carrier vehicle in any part of the State;" It is insignificant to notice that under S.42 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, all private carriers are not exempted from taking out permits. Bat the definition of "permit" in the T. P. G. Act does not relate to any private carrier. Bat the definition of "permit" in the T. P. G. Act does not relate to any private carrier. Whatever that may be, it is clear from the aforesaid provisions that the petitioner would not be an operator as defined in S.2 (b) of the T. P. G. Act, as he does not require a permit in respect of his vehicles either under the T. P. G. Act or under the Motor Vehicles Act, and he would not therefore, be a person "whose name is entered in the permit as the bolder thereof". As already pointed out, the liability to pay the tax to the State is on the operator; and the petitioner would not be liable to pay any tax as he is not an operator in respect of his vehicles. 5. The learned Government Pleader contended that S.3 (1) of the T.P.G Act has imposed the tax of all luggages and goods transported by a goods vehicle, and that, as the petitioner's vehicles are admittedly goods vehicle as defined in the T. P. G Act, the petitioner is liable to pay the tax at the rates specified thereunder. It is true that Sub-section (1) has imposed the tax on all luggages and goods carried by a goods vehicle; but that sub-section does not make the registered owner of the vehicle liable to collect and/or pay it to the State. The right to collect the tax and the liability to pay the same to the State are provided by Sub-sections (2) and (3); and the person entitled to collect the same and liable to pay it to the State is the "operator" So long as the petitioner is not an operator, he has no liability under the said provisions. S.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc., in the T. P. G. Act provide for the composition, assessment and collection of the tax; and the provisions contained therein clearly indicate that the liability to pay tax is only on the operator. 6. For the reasons stated above, the petitioner is entitled to succeed in his contention that the provisions under the T. P. G. Act do not apply to his vehicles. The respondents, are, therefore, restrained from collecting any tax under the said Act from the petitioner in respect of the two vehicles concerned in this case. 6. For the reasons stated above, the petitioner is entitled to succeed in his contention that the provisions under the T. P. G. Act do not apply to his vehicles. The respondents, are, therefore, restrained from collecting any tax under the said Act from the petitioner in respect of the two vehicles concerned in this case. The second respondent will take the necessary action to transfer the registration of the petitioner's vehicle accordingly. In the circumstances of the case there will be no order as to costs.