AKHRAJ PARAKH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the three revision cases raise a common question relating to the meaning to be given to the words "gold or silver bullion", occurring in Section 6 of the Hyderabad General Sales Tax Act, 1950.

(2.) T.R.C. No. 91 of 1958 relates to the assessment year 1954-55, T.R.C. No. 92 of 1958 to the year 1955-56 and T.R.C. No. 93 of 1958 to the assessment year 1953-54. The petitioners are a firm of dealers in gold, silver and jewellery at Kothagudem, Khammameth District. Their business consists of buying pure gold, adding to it base metal like copper and selling it as sovereign gold.

(3.) The plea of the petitioners before the Department was that this turnover was not exigible to tax for the reason that they had already paid tax at the rate of four annas per cent and, consequently, they were entitled to the benefit of Section 6(1) of the Hyderabad General Sales Tax Act. This did not prevail with the Department which was of opinion that the metal sold by the assessee was not gold bullion coming within the ambit of Section 6(1) and as such the turnover was liable to tax.