MURARILAL SARAWAGI Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These six appeals are by special leave from the judgment dated 26th February, 1974, of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

(2.) The principal question in these appeals is whether the appellants are the last purchasers of manganese ore within the State of Andhra Pradesh. The appellants contended before the Sales Tax Authorities that their sales of Manganese ore to the Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation in short called the M. M. T. C. were complete within the State of Andhra Pradesh. The appellants, therefore, contended that they were not the last purchasers but the M. M. T. C. was the last purchaser within the State, and, therefore, the M. M. T. C. was liable to pay the tax.

(3.) The High Court came to the conclusion that the appellants were the last purchaser in the State. The High Court held that the contract between the appellants and the M. M. T. C. indicated that the appellants contract of sale occasioned the export and that the contract of the appellants with the M. M. T. C. was integrally connected with the contract entered into by the M. M. T. C. with their foreign buyer. In short, the High Court held that there existed a bond between the contracts of sale entered into by the appellants with the M. M. T. C. and the actual exportation of the goods. The High Court held that these contracts were intrinsically linked and connected and the sales effected were held to be sales in the course of export of manganese ore out of the territory of India.