PREMIER BREWERIES Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Premier Breweries Limited, the appellant herein, is a dealer in Indian-made foreign liquor. The liquor is sold in bottles packed in cardboard cartons. The dispute in this case arose in course of sales tax assessment for the year 1982-83. Before the Assessing Officer the assessee's case was thatthe cardboard cartons will have to be taxed at the rate of 8% under Entry 97 of the First Schedule of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 and not at the rate of 50% applicable to sale of liquor. The appellant's case was that it had charged its customers separately for the liquor and the cartons. There was no reason to include the value of the cartons in the value of the liquor for the purpose of levy of tax. Initially, the assessee's stand was accepted by the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax and an assessment order was passed accordingly.

(2.) Later on the Deputy Commissioner, Palghat, thought that an error has been committed in the assessment order and in exercise of his revisional power under Section 35 of the Act he set aside the assessment order. The Deputy Commissioner was of the view that the Assessing Authority had erroneously levied tax at the rate of 8% on packing material, viz. , cardboard cartons. As per Section 5 (5 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, where goods sold were contained in containers or were packed in any packing material, the rate of tax and the point of levy applicable to such containers or packing materials, as the case may be, should, whether the price of the containers or the packing materials was charged separately or not, be the same as that applicable to goods contained or packed. In determining turnover of the goods, the turnover in respect of the containers or packing materials will have to be included therein.

(3.) Thereafter, the assessment was revised in the manner indicated by the Deputy Commissioner. The view of the Deputy Commissioner was upheld by the tribunal and also the High court.