STATE OF ORISSA Vs. MAHAMAYA COCONUTS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON direction of this court on an application made under section 24(2) of the Orissa Sales Tax Act at the instance of the State, the Member, Additional Sales Tax Tribunal, has stated a case and referred the following question for opinion of the court :

(2.) THE assessee is a partnership firm and its main business is to deal in coconuts - watery and dry - in the course of intra-State as also inter-State trade. For the period 1968-69, the assessee filed a return showing gross turnover at Rs. 1,77,513.05, which was accepted by the assessing officer. The assessing officer did not agree with the assessee that the entire turnover including the price of gunny containers was to be taxed at three per cent on the basis that coconuts were oil-seeds as defined in section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act and, therefore, the maximum rate of tax would not exceed three per cent. The assessing officer valued the gunny containers at Rs. 26,658.30 and assessed the same at 10 per cent. He divided the turnover under two heads and, on the sale value of dry coconuts amounting to Rs. 18,672, he assessed the tax at the rate of 10 per cent treating the same not to be oil-seeds.

(3.) WHEN this application was heard, this court found that the materials placed on record were not adequate for answering the question. Accordingly, the Member, Additional Sales Tax Tribunal, was requested to furnish an additional statement of facts. Now an additional statement has been furnished. It has been found as a fact that coconuts are usually of four types :