1999 (3) TMI 500 - SUPREME COURT

Whether certain sales of commodities other than the goods relating to the main business could also be included in the turnover?

Held that:- Appeal dismissed. Port Trust is not involved in any activity of “carrying on business” and that unclaimed and unserviceable goods are sold in discharge of various statutory charges, items, etc., and the sales of these items are also an infinitesimal part of the Port Trust’s main activities or services. No doubt, the sales of goods are in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to the main “non-business” activities, but they cannot be treated as “business” without any plea by the State of Tamil Nadu that the Port Trust had an independent intention to carry on business in the sale of unserviceable/unclaimed goods. That is not the case of the department in the show cause notice. Further from the counter-affidavits filed in the High Court it is clear that it is not the case of the State that there is any separate intention on the part of the Port Trust, to carry on business in the unserviceable and unclaimed goods. Its contention has been that the main activities of the Port Trust amounted to “carrying on business” and that these sales, even if they were incidental, fell within the meaning of the word “business”. The argument fails in view of our finding that the main activity is not one amounting to “carrying on business”.