INDIAN EXPLOSIVES LIMITED Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE five references under section 33 (1) of the Bihar Sales Tax Ordinance, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as "the Ordinance") have been made by the Commercial Taxes Tribunal seeking opinion of this Court on the following questions of law :

(2.) ALL the five references in hand relate to the same assessee giving rise to the above common questions of law under identical facts for the periods 1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70 and 1970-71.

(3.) IT appears that during the periods under consideration the assessee through its head office in Calcutta had entered into contracts with its purchasers of West Bengal for sale of explosives. According to the assessing officer none of the contracts had a stipulation in respect of place from where the explosives were to be supplied. Admittedly part of the sale of explosives had been effected by transporting the same from the factory of the assessee at Gomia in the State of Bihar to the place of business of the customers in the State of West Bengal. These sales have been held to be inter-State sales by the assessing officer making the assessee liable to pay Central sales Tax. The appeal of the assessee having failed, the dispute was carried to the Tribunal by way of filing a revision application. The Tribunal also confirmed the views of the lower authorities.