CALTEX INDIA LTD Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON an application made by the assessee under section 24 (2) of the Orissa Sales Tax Act (hereinafter REFERRED TO as the "act" this court by order dated 3rd September, 1975, called upon the Sales Tax Tribunal to state a case and refer the following question for opinion of the court :

(2.) THE periods with which these four references are concerned are quarters ending with 30th June, 1960, 30th September, 1960, 31st December, 1960, and 31st March, 1961. The petitioner has been assessed as an unregistered dealer under section 12 (5) of the Act has been subjected to penalty. The brief facts useful for the purpose of the present proceeding are these : The National Mineral Development Corporation (briefly known as "n. M. D. C. ") runs a unit of its business at Kiriburu of Keonjhar District within this State. For its business N. M. D. C. required several motor vehicle which consumed high speed diesel oil and petroleum. For its own consumption, N. M. D. C. wanted to set up private pumps within the project site. In the year 1959, the petitioner made an offer to N. M. D. C. for supply of high speed diesel oil and petroleum and the offer was contained in a letter dated 23rd may, 1959. In December, 1959, the petitioner submitted quotations for petrol and high speed diesel oil clearly indicating that supplies will be effected from its Tatanagar depot in barrels to be delivered into the underground tanks installed in the project site of N. M. D. C. The orders from time to time were placed by the Controller of Stores of N. M. D. C. at Kiriburu on the assessee at Jamshedpur for supply of both petroleum as also h. s. d. oil and in the bills drawn against the consumer, Central Sales tax was collected on the basis that the supply effected from Jamshedpur within the State of Bihar to Kiriburu within the State of Orissa involved inter-State transactions. From time to time, N. M. D. C. placed orders for supply of high speed diesel oil, petroleum and lubricants on the Jamshedpur unit of the petitioner and those goods were transported in tankers and delivered to the consumer at Kiriburu. The practice was that drivers of the transport vehicles presented challans which used to be acknowledged by the officers of N. M. D. C. and from time to time payments against supplies of goods were made to the petitioner. Explosive licence for storage stood in the name of the petitioner. There was, however, no written contract fixing the terms. When the assessing officer issued notice to the petitioner, the assessee took the stand that the transactions were not exigible to tax under the Orissa Sales Tax Act and as they were of inter-State character, Central sales tax was payable and has been paid in Bihar. The assessing officer as also the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax took the view that sales took place within the State of Orissa and, therefore, the transactions were exigible to Orissa sales tax.

(3.) OUR answer to the question REFERRED TO us, therefore, is : On the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the sales effected by the assessee are in the course of inter-State trade and accordingly are not exigible to Orissa sales tax. The assessee shall be entitled to the costs of these proceedings. Consolidated hearing fee is assessed at rupees two hundred. Reference answered accordingly.