KRISHNA TRADING COMPANY Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Sri S. Dwarakanath, Learned Counsel for the revision petitioner and Sri P. Balaji Varma, learned Special Standing Counsel for Commercial Taxes. This revision is directed against the common order of the learned Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad (for short, "the Tribunal"), dated April 24, 1998 in T. A. No. 606 of 1995 and a batch of five other appeals; insofar as T. A. No. 492 of 1997 is concerned, it was preferred by the revision petitioner against the order of the Deputy Commissioner (Commercial Taxes), Chittoor, revising the order of assessment.

(2.) The revision petitioner is a dealer, which purchased groundnuts from the Andhra Pradesh Oil Seeds Growers Federation Limited, Hyderabad (for short, "the Federation") and on the strength of the certificates issued by the Federation, the assessing authority granted exemption on the corresponding purchase turnover of groundnuts. It requires to be noticed that in G. O. Ms. No. 621, Revenue, dated June 28, 1989, the State exercising powers under section 9(1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 (for short, "1957 Act"), exempted purchases of groundnut oil seeds by the Federation or its unions or member farmers under the Oil Seeds Development Project, from the liability to tax under the 1957 Act.

(3.) The revising authority issued a show-cause notice, dated September 20, 1994, proposing to revise the order of assessment on the ground that since the Federation was exempted under the provisions of G. O. Ms. No. 621, dated June 28, 1989, the revision petitioner was liable to pay the tax as the last dealer qua entry 6 of Schedule III. By the final order dated March 3, 1997, however, the revisional authority following the judgment of this Court in Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers Ltd. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 1982 51 STC 1(AP), held that where there is total exemption from the tax on the goods, the liability would arise under section 6A of the 1957 Act and revised the assessment and brought the net turnover returned by the dealer to tax at four per cent.