HYDERABAD INDUSTRIES LIMITED Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these two tax revision cases preferred by the same assessee in respect of the assessments for the assessment years 1986-87 and 1985-86 respectively under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 ("the Act", for short), the order dated 8/02/1995, of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal in T.A. Nos. 669 and 670 of 1992 is questioned.

(2.) The disputed turnover of the said two years relates to transactions whereunder the petitioner supplied asbestos cement sheets to various persons at the instance of certain nationalised banks. The petitioner contends that the said turnover has to be taxed at the concessional rate of tax by virtue of the provisions of G.O. Ms. No. 172 (Revenue) dated 13/02/1986. The department contends that the said transactions cannot have the benefit of the concessional rate of tax because they are hit by the proviso in the said G.O., which is as follows :

(3.) It is not disputed by the department that nationalised banks are public sector undertakings. But what is contended on behalf of the department is that the asbestos cement sheets supplied by the petitioner were neither used nor captivity consumed by the nationalised banks and than the nationalised banks adopted the procedure of placing direct orders to the petitioner for supply of asbestos cement sheets only to see that the loans were properly utilised for the purposes they were intended and that the goods were in fact used by the customers of the banks taking loans from them and were never used by the banks themselves.