LAVKUSH HOSIERY Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Sales Tax Tribunal, Punjab, has referred the following question of law to this Court for opinion : Whether 'hosiery goods' are 'declared goods' and fall within the ambit and scope of Section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 ?

(2.) NO elaborate facts are required to be noticed. The petitioner-assessee is a registered dealer dealing in hosiery goods. In its quarterly returns for the assessment year 1966-67, it indicated inter-State sales and claimed that no Central sales tax was leviable, since the sales had been made to Nagaland and were thus exempt from levy of tax. The plea of the assessee was rejected. Two questions had arisen :

(3.) AT the outset it must be mentioned that "hosiery goods" as such are not "declared goods" under Section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act. The effort of the assessee was to bring them within the ambit of ''cotton fabrics" as figuring in the list in Section 14 at (ii-a) as also within that of "woollen fabrics" figuring at (x ). His plea was that "hosiery goods" are fabrics, be they cotton or woollen. It need be noticed here that "cotton fabrics" are those as defined in item No. 19 and "woollen fabrics" are those as defined in item No. 21 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.