Constitution of Welfare Boards as a condition precedent for cess levy

establishes that although the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996 came into force on their notified dates, they remained practically dormant until the requisite administrative machinery was established. The Cess Act is complementary to the BOCW Act and was specifically enacted to augment the resources of the Welfare Boards constituted under Section 18 of the BOCW Act. In the absence of duly constituted Welfare Boards, the levy and collection of cess cannot logically arise because there is no statutory repository authorized to receive and utilize the funds for social security measures. Collecting such cess without an existing Board would result in diverting funds into the general consolidated fund of the State for broad public purposes, jeopardizing its legal character as a fee based on quid pro quo and converting it into an unauthorized tax. Therefore, the constitution of Welfare Boards is a sine qua non and a condition precedent for giving operational effect to the statutory levy and collection mechanism. (Prakash Atlanta (JV) Vs National Highways Authority of India | 2026 INSC 76).