TMI Blog1964 (11) TMI 62X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... BBA RAO K., SHAH J.C. AND SIKRI S.M. JJ. R. Gopalakrishnan, for the respondent. S.V. Gupte, Solicitor-General of India (M.S.K. Sastri and B.R.G.K. Achar with him), for the appellant. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of SUBBA RAO and SIKRI, JJ., was delivered by SIKRI, J. SHAH, J., delivered a separate judgment. SHAH, J.- The High Court of Mysore has held that sales which were not "first sales" within the Mysore State being not exigible to tax under the Mysore Sales Tax Act, no tax was payable thereon under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The provisions of the Central Sales Tax Act in force at the relevant time may be briefly referred to. Section 6 imposes upon every dealer, subject to the other provisions contained in the Act, liability to pay tax under the Act on all sales effected by him in the course of inter-State trade or commerce during any year. Section 7 provides for registration of dealers. Section 8 deals with the rates of tax on sales in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. By sub-section (2), as it stood at the relevant time, it was provided: "The tax payable by any dealer in any case not falling w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nter-State sales of dealers. By section 8(2) tax payable by the dealer in respect of his sales not falling within sub-section (1)-and the turnover in the present case is not in respect of sale falling within sub-section (1)-has to be calculated at the same rates and in the same manner as would have been calculated, if the sale had taken place inside the appropriate State. The clause in terms only deals with calculation of the tax-the rate at which and the manner in which the tax has to be calculated-under the State law; it does not attract any exemptions from tax prescribed by the State law. Use of the expression "in the same manner" in section 8(2) has not the effect of assimilating the procedural and the substantive pro- visions relating to the imposition, levy and collection of tax as are provided by the State law in the matter of collection of tax under the Central Sales Tax Act. The Legislature has not said so in express terms, and there is no implication to that effect in the scheme of the Act. Section 9(1) invests the appropriate State Government with authority to levy and collect tax, in the manner provided by sub- section (2). By sub-section (2) of section 9 the Legislat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er the inter-State sales. The Court also held that the phrase "in the same manner" in section 9(3) [which was substituted for the original sub- section (2) of section 9, by the Central Sales Tax (Second Amendment) Act, [1958] did not make applicable all the incidents of the local sales tax law to the assessment under the Central Sales Tax Act. The phrase merely contemplated that the procedure of making an assessment, collection of tax, and the provisions relating to the determination of turnover shall be the same as laid down in the local Sales Tax Act. In M.A. Abbas and Company v. The State of Madras [1962] 13 S.T.C. 433., it was held by the Madras High Court that for the purpose of attaching liability to sales tax under section 8(2) the fact that in respect of that transaction the dealer may not be liable under the local sales tax law (goods sold being subject only to a single point levy under the local sales tax law) is of no consequence. The principle of Mariappa's case [1962] 13 S.T.C. 371., was applied by the Kerala High Court in Parvathi Mills (Private) Ltd. v. The State of Kerala [1962] 13 S.T.C. 927. , in which excise duty paid to the Central Government by a dealer and c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ax. In my view the High Court was in error in regarding sales other than the first sales exempt from liability to pay tax under the Central Sales Tax Act when the sales sought to be taxed were in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. SIKRI, J.- This is an appeal by special leave directed against the judgment of the Mysore High Court accepting the revision petition of the respondent before us, hereinafter referred to as the assessee. The relevant facts are these: The assessee is a dealer in power- loom and handloom textiles, both within the Mysore State and in the course of inter-State trade. For the year 1957-58, the Commercial Tax Officer, Bangalore, assessed and taxed the turnover relating to powerloom textiles under section 9 of the Central Sales Tax Act (74 of 1956), hereinafter referred to as the Central Act, as it stood before its amendment by the Central Sales Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 1958 (31 of 1958). This was upheld by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. The Mysore Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal also affirmed the order. The High Court, in revision, accepted the plea of the assessee that its turnover consisting of sales of textiles manufactured by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the sale by him of any goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be calculated at the same rates and in the same manner as would have been done if the sale had, in fact, taken place inside the appropriate State, and for the purpose of making any such calculation any such dealer shall be deemed to be a dealer liable to pay tax under the sales tax law of the appropriate State, notwithstanding that he, in fact, may not be so liable under that law. 9. Levy and collection of tax.-(1) The tax payable by any dealer under this Act shall be levied and collected in the appropriate State by the Government of India in the manner provided in sub- section (2). (2) The authorities for the time being empowered to assess, collect and enforce payment of any tax under the general sales tax law of the appropriate State shall, on behalf of the Government of India and subject to any rules made under this Act, assess, collect and enforce payment of any tax payable by a dealer under this Act in the same manner as the tax on the sale or purchase of goods under the general sales tax law of the State is assessed, paid and collected; and for this purpose they may exercise all or any of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ax payable by any dealer under the Central Act in the same manner as the tax on the sale or purchase of goods under the general sales tax law of the State is assessed, paid and collected. The expression "levy" means "impose". Under section 5(3)(a) of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957, hereinafter called the State Act, tax shall be levied in the case of the sale of any of the goods mentioned in column (2) of the Second Schedule by the first or the earliest of successive dealers in the State, who is liable to tax under that section, a tax at the rate specified in the corresponding entry of column (3) of the said Schedule on the turnover of sales of such dealer in each year relating to such goods. When section 9(1) says that under the Central Act tax shall be levied in the same manner as the tax on the sale or purchase of goods under the general sales tax law of the State is assessed, paid and collected, it is reasonable to hold that the expression "levied" in section 9(1) of the Central Act refers to the expression "levied" in section 5(3)(a) of the State Act. There is no reason why the Central Act made a departure in the manner of levy of tax on the specified goods which are taxed only ..... 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