ORIENT PAPER MILLS LTD Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are applications by Messrs. Orient Paper Mills Ltd. against the orders of the Member (C.T.), Board of Revenue, in revision, rejecting their prayer for grant of refund section 14 of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 (Orissa Act XIV of 1947) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) in respect of sales tax realised from them for the quarters mentioned below :

(2.) THE petitioners paid the taxes in due course but when they came to know of the decision of the Supreme Court in the United Motors case ([1953] 4 S.T.C. 133; A.I.R. 1953 S.C. 252) (State of Bombay v. United Motors (India) Ltd.) construing Article 286(1) of the Constitution they thought that they were not liable to pay sales tax in respect of the transactions covered by these applications inasmuch as they related to inter-State sales. Their claims for refund were mainly based on the decision of the Supreme Court which, according to them, made it absolutely clear that no sales tax was due from them in respect of those transactions. The subsequent reversal of that decision of the Supreme Court by a later decision of the same Court in the Bengal Immunity case ([1955] 6 S.T.C. 446; A.I.R. 1955 S.C. 661) (Bengal Immunity Co. v. State of Bihar) in respect of other matters did not, however, affect the former decision so far as the non-liability to pay sales tax in respect of these transactions was concerned.

(3.) I may now briefly refer to certain relevant provisions of the Act. Section 9-B(1) impliedly authorises every registered dealer to realise amounts by way of tax on the sale of goods from purchasers. Sub-section (3) of that section is as follows :