COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX Vs. CIGARETTE AGENCIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INVOKING the jurisdiction of this Court, under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, the Commissioner of Sales Tax of State of M. P. and other functionaries of the aforesaid department have called in question the penetrability and tenability of the decision rendered by the learned single Judge in M. P. No. 271 of 1986.

(2.) THE facts which are essential to be stated for the purpose of disposal of the present appeal are that the respondent, hereinafter referred to as "the petitioner", was assessed to entry tax in Entry Tax Case No. 51/1980-81 relating to the period of August 11, 1980 to March 31, 1981 for a sum of Rs. 1,42,524 and Rs. 50,000 as penalty under Section 43 (1) of the Entry Tax Act (M. P. Sthaniya Kshetra Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Ahdhiniyum, 1976 ).

(3.) THE aforesaid order of assessment was affirmed by order dated November 26, 1984 in Revision Case No. 170/r/1984 by the revisional authority, Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax, Jabalpur. It is not in dispute that the petitioner is a registered dealer as a wholesaler at Bilaspur, which was a part of the State of the Madhya Pradesh before Madhya Pradesh Re-organisation Act, 2000 came into force. He has his place of business at the railway area, Bilaspur, which is not a local area as defined under the Entry Tax Act. The petitioner obtained certain cartons of cigarettes at the railway area (Maldhakka) and delivered the same to the retailers of Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Raigarh and Manendragarh. As the sale was effected at Maldhakka, the railway area, the petitioner, as pleaded by him, was not to be held liable for payment of the entry tax as there was no incidence of tax under Section 3 of the Entry Tax Act. It was the case of the petitioner that the cigarettes sold to retail dealers of Rajnandgaon, Raipur, Dhamtari and Jagdalpur were consigned directly to these destinations from Bombay by the Golden Tobacco Company, Bombay. The bilties (M. T. Rs.) for the goods were sent to the petitioner at Maldhakka, who after receiving the bilties endorsed the same in favour of the dealers of Rajnandgaon, Raipur, Dhamtari and Raigarh. The said dealers caused entry of the goods in their respective areas and also paid entry tax.