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TMI Blog1964 (7) TMI 30X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion of the assessee before the assessment authorities was that the concerned film projector was purchased by him in 1946 and was used by him for several years for exhibition of educational films, which was one of the activities in which he was engaged, and then he sold it in the year of assessment. In regard to the sale of the negative film of the "Tour of Mahatma Gandhi", the assessee contended that the tour was in 1946 and in that year the film was taken, that after using it for over 8 years, during which period he sold several positives of the film, he sold the negative to Gandhi Samarak Nidhi on account of the request of the latter to sell the negative to it for the purpose of preservation. As a result of the above-mentioned nature of the transactions, the assessee contended that the sales were not in the course of his business and were not assessable to sales tax. This contention was negatived both by the assessing authority as well as by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. The present revision case is filed before us disputing the above decision. The question as to how far a particular sale is a sale in the course of business attracting the levy of sales tax is a question to b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the business of providing public transport. Buses used in transport as and when they became unserviceable or useless were sold either as old buses or scrap. It was held by this Court that by reason of these isolated transactions, the assessee could not be treated as dealers in buses within the meaning of the Sale Tax Act. In State of Bombay v. Ahmedabad Education Society[1956] 7 S.T.C. 497., the assessee was an education society which has as its objects the spread of education, the starting and taking over of arts colleges, and other similar objects. In furtherance of these objects, they gave a contract to a contractor for construction of buildings. They set up a brick factory and supplied bricks manufactured therein to the contractor. The remaining bricks, over and above what was required for the construction work, were disposed of to sister educational institutions at cost price. The High Court of Bombay, in the above circumstances, held that the society was not a dealer liable to pay sales tax on the sales of bricks, as there was no intention on its part to sell the goods at the time when the goods were manufactured. At page 500 of the report they observed: ".....the expres ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the fact that he had not frequently sold a particular commodity would not necessarily be decisive in ascertaining whether a particular sale has been made in the course of business or not, though no doubt they would be relevant pieces of evidence and of assistance for determination of the issue". In Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Hindoostan Spinning and Weaving Company Limited[1964] 15 S.T.C. 69., the assessee-company was a manufacturer of cloth. It had to sell some of its old machinery and replace it by new machinery. A question arose whether the sale of the old machinery attracted sales tax, and the High Court of Bombay adopted the test laid down in its earlier decision in Ebrahim & Co. v. State of Bombay[1962] 13 S.T.C. 877. as to whether the sale had a reasonable connection with the nature of the business carried on by the dealer, and held that the sale did not attract sales tax. In the decision reported in Gannon Dunkerley & Co. v. Government of Madras[1964] 15 S.T.C. 40. , the assessees were building contractors. They objected to the inclusion in their turnover the sale value of materials such as broken bricks, jelly and cement left over after the completion of the building ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... erials was assessable at the purchase point. It was contended that the purchase of tanning materials was not connected with the business of dealing in hides and skins, and since the tanning materials went into the manufacture of tanned hides and skins, there was no profit-motive in regard to their purchase. This claim was negatived by this Court and it was observed that the use of the tanning materials in the tanning process contributed to the making of profit as a dealer and it should therefore follow that even the business of purchasing the tanning materials involved a profit-motive. There is no doubt in the present case about the existence of a profitmotive. It is not contended by the assessee that any of his activities was undertaken out of purely cultural or educative motives, though he exhibited films in schools and other educational institutions. But in every case he seems to have had any eye on the profit part of the transaction. Stress was laid on the fact that ordinarily he was not selling negative films and that he was more concerned with the sale of positive films. But the question will always arise in the case of such a business activity whether at some point of time t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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