COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES Vs. ROHTAS INDUSTRIES LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Bihar, Patna, has under Section 25(1) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1947, asked for this Court's opinion on the undermentioned question : Whether, in the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in law to hold that the order dated 4th July, 1963, of the Deputy Commissioner merged in the order dated 28th May, 1965, of the Tribunal and that the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Bihar, had no jurisdiction to revise the said order under Section 24(4) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1947? This question has arisen on the facts as stated below : In fact, virtually the same question and on similar facts had been referred to this Court for its opinion in the case of Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Bihar, Patna v. Rameshwar Das Panna Lal [1974] 34 S.T.C. 296. This Court answered the question in the affirmative and against the department. The said decision has since been reported in [1974] 34 S.T.C. 296. There should not, therefore, have been a further occasion to ask for this Court's opinion on virtually the same question arising on similar facts. Since, however, once again opinion of this Court has been sought, it has to be answered.

(2.) In this judgment, the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes shall be referred to as the "department" and the respondent-opposite party shall be referred to as the "dealer".

(3.) The dealer returned a gross turnover of Rs. 12,42,36,362 for the period 1958-59. Out of this gross turnover a sum of Rs. 6,52,613 was claimed as deduction on account of sales of vanaspati outside Bihar on consignment basis. The dealer's claim was rejected by the assessing officer on the ground that the sales had been effected in pursuance of a contract for sale and, therefore, the sale was in the nature of inter-State sale. On appeal, the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, being satisfied that out of the said sum of Rs. 6,52,613, goods worth Rs. 5,07,431 had been despatched on self-consignment basis outside Bihar, accepted the dealer's claim to that extent by his order dated 4th July, 1963. Thus, in effect, the dealer's claim of the balance amount of Rs. 1,45,182 remained unaccepted. The dealer then filed a revision application before the Board of Revenue, which revision application, on constitution of the Commercial Taxes Tribunal, was transferred to the Tribunal for disposal. The Tribunal by its order dated 28th May, 1965, remanded the proceeding to the assessing officer for detailed examination with regard to the claim of exemption of the aforesaid sum of Rs. 1,45,182. In regard to the deduction of Rs. 5,07,431, which had been admitted by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, the Tribunal observed : "As this point is not specifically (sic) for consideration before us, we refrain from making any observation on the finding of the Deputy Commissioner on this point.