MANGALAPALLI RAMAKRISHNIAH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE assessee is a merchant who entered into a written contract with the Government, Exhibit A-1, described as "an agreement for the collection and disposal of bamboos in the bamboo coupes in Peddagiri Range at Amalapuram". The assessee was referred to in Exhibit A-1 as a "contractor". The period during which he was allowed to fell, collect and remove the bamboos from the forest extended for about 11 months from 7th May, 1951, to 31st March, 1952. There were clauses in the contract, Exhibit A-1, prohibiting the assessee from cutting all the bamboos in a cluster or tender shoots less than a year old. The bamboos were of spontaneous growth in the Government forest. There were restrictions imposed on the assessee and his men and servants with regard to the entry into the forest and egress out of it when cutting bamboos. The assessee paid a lump sum to the Government as consideration for the right of cutting the bamboos from the forest during the stipulated period. The assessee issued permits to cut and remove the bamboos to various persons for money received, the aggregate of such sums amounting to Rs. 41, 305-8-0. The assessee objects to the inclusion of this sum in his turnover for two reasons firstly because it does not fall within the definition of "turnover" in section 2 (i) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act and secondly because the Government had collected sales tax from the assessee, once at the time the contract was entered into and could not again levy sales tax on him under provisos (i) and (ii) to section 3 (5) of the Act.

(2.) THE proviso to section 2 (i) of the Act runs thus :

(3.) FOR these reasons, the revision case is dismissed with costs. Advocate's fee Rs. 50.