The Doctrine of Pari Materia in the Interpretation of Taxing Statutes: Harmonising Strict Construction with Statutory Coherence: A Research Article

Abstract

Taxing statutes have a special role in the rules of interpretation. Courts require a charge to tax to be unambiguous, with nothing to be read into it or implied, and they reject any discussion of equity. Concurrently, there is no such thing as modern fiscal legislation as a single code. It is a complex network of charging Acts, tariff schedules, definitional borrowings, procedural codes, state and central laws and judicial glosses. The doctrine of pari materia (when laws on the same matter are read together as a harmonious whole) provides a means of understanding the web. However, fiscal law does not appear to fit well with it. This article explores the working of the doctrine in the context of taxing statutes and its application in the context of Indian law. It traces the doctrine's origin and rationale, specifies the interpretive framework of the doctrine for fiscal statues and then proceeds to analyse its applications in income tax, customs and excise tariffs, sales tax and GST and in the borrowing of the doctrine from non-tax statues. It then outlines the boundaries of the doctrine, and the issues of its misuse. The article contends that pari materia cannot be interpreted as a means to impose liability, but rather to clarify ambiguities and find coherence. When kept properly it is in strict construction. It is also a protection against unconstitutional tax levy.