COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX Vs. PRAHALAD DAS RAMDAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this reference under Section 44 (1) of the M. P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the Board of Revenue has referred the following question of law to this Court for its opinion:

(2.) THE material facts giving rise to this reference briefly are as follows: The assessee was assessed to sales tax for the year 1963-64. The claim of the assessee for exemption under Section 6 (2) of the Central Sales Tax Act was disallowed by the assessing authority and the appeal preferred by the assessee against that order was dismissed. That claim of the assessee was, however, upheld in the second appeal preferred by him before the Board. Hence at the instance of the department, the Board of Revenue has referred the aforesaid question of law for the opinion of this Court.

(3.) AT the time of hearing, the learned counsel for the assessee and the department conceded that the question referred to this Court has to be answered in favour of the assessee and against the department in view of the decision of this Court reported in Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. Prakash Oil Mills, Ujjain (printed at page 226 infra) 1981 VKN (14) 267. In that case, it has been held by a Division Bench of this Court that for the purpose of claiming exemption under Section 6 (2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, it is sufficient to produce only the certificate in form E-I and that it is not obligatory to produce the original of the declaration in form C received from the purchasing dealer, as stipulated by Rule 8-D of the M. P. Sales Tax (Central) Rules, 1957. We see no reason to take a view different from that taken in the aforesaid decision.