In Brief
The Municipal Corporation of Allahabad sought to levy a licence fee on Life Insurance Corporation of India under a notification, claiming it fell within the definition of 'insurance company'. The Supreme Court held that Section 438 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1959 authorizes licence fees only for activities involving keeping goods or animals for sale or manufacturing premises. Since life insurance is a financial service and not a trade involving goods or manufacture, LIC was not liable to pay the fee. The Court distinguished LIC (governed by the Life Insurance Corporation of India Act, 1956) from general insurance companies, dismissing the appeal.
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