OUCHTERLONEY VALLEY ESTATES LIMITED Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a group of fifteen appeals by special leave which raise a common question of law. The appellants in these respective appeals are Plantation Companies which grow their own tea in Tea Estates and sell their products. Under the relevant provisions of the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act 11 of 1125 (hereinafter called the Travancore Act), Sales-tax Officers had assessed the appellants to several amounts of tax in respect of their turn-over for different years. The appellants had urged before the Sales-tax Officers that the transactions in question were not liable to pay sales-tax, but their pleas were rejected and sales-tax was ordered to be imposed in respect of the said transactions. The appellants then challenged the correctness of these orders by preferring appeals before the Sales-Tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal concurred with the view taken by the Sales-tax Officers and confirmed the respective orders of assessment. The appellants then moved the High Court of Kerala in its revisional jurisdiction under s. 15B of the Travancore Act. These revision applications also failed; and that has brought the appellants to this Court by special leave.

(2.) Though the periods and the amounts of turn-over for which sales-tax has been levied against the different appellants are not the same, the principal point which these appeals raise for our decision rests on facts which are common to all the cases, and so, it would be enough if we refer to the facts in respect of one of these appeals. We will accordingly mention the relevant facts in regard to appeals Nos. 1084-1088/1963 in which the appellant is M/s. Ouchterloney Valley Estates Ltd. We may add that the three other appellants in the present group are : The Kil Kotagiri Tea & Coffee Estate Co. Ltd., M/s. Peria Karamali Tea & Produce Co. Ltd.; and M/s. Chembra Peak Estates Ltd. The appellant M/s. Ouchterloney Valley Estates Ltd. produces tea in its own Tea Estates and sells its products. It does not itself carry on the business of buying and selling its products. The Managing Agents of the appellant are M/s. Peirce Leslie & Co. Ltd., Coimbatore. The quantities of tea produced by the appellant were sold by public auction at Fort Cochin; the purchasers paid the consideration at Fort Cochin and obtained from the auctioneers delivery notes requesting the godown keepers at Wellingdon Island to deliver the goods. After the goods are produced, they are sent to the godowns at Wellingdon Island and the sale by public auction is held at Fort Cochin. Fort Cochin was in the State of Madras, whereas Wellingdon Island was in the State of Travancore at the relevant time. The periods for which assessment has been levied against the appellant are 1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1955-56 and 1956-57.

(3.) The procedure followed for the public auctions in question must now be indicated. This is how the procedure has been summarised in the present proceedings :-