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TMI Blog1967 (4) TMI 178X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r sold away the entire stocks to other millers or crushed certain portions of the stocks purchased by them and sold away the balance of the stocks to other millers. The contention raised on behalf of the assessees is that though they may be described as millers of groundnut, they have not actually conducted the operations of crushing the groundnut into oil in the mills either wholly or partly and that the tax should be levied against the particular miller who ultimately crushed the groundnut into oil at which stage the goods lose their character as groundnut. These contentions were upheld by the Tribunal. In these revisions filed by the Government it is contended that the first miller who purchased the groundnut is liable for the tax irrespective of the fact whether he crushes them into oil or not. In order to appreciate these rival contentions, we may now refer to the relevant provisions of law. Article 286(3) of the Constitution reads as follows: 286. (3) "Any law of a State shall, in so far as it Imposes or authorises the imposition of, a tax on the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special importance in interState trade or commerce, be subject t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ith the proper interpretation of Item 6 of Schedule III of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act. The point of levy has undergone various changes from the inception, that is from 1956. But we are not here concerned with the previous history of the point at which the tax is levied. The words "other than a decorticating miller" appear to have been introduced in item 6 of Schedule III in view of the decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court In Aswathanarayana v. Deputy Commercial Tax Officer[1964] 15 S.T.C. 795. in which it was held that the word "miller" In item 3(c) of Schedule IV of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act is wide enough to include a decorticating miller. We are therefore concerned with purchases by millers who own or work groundnut oil mills and not decorticating millers. The term "miller" has not been defined in the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, but according to the dictionary meaning, a miller is one who owns or works a mill either as a tenant or as a proprietor. On a construction of item 6 of Schedule III extracted above, the Tribunal held that "miller" means the last miller in whose hands groundnut gets converted into oil during the milling process ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ccording to the learned Government Pleader, avoids various complicated enquiries, namely, as to how much of the stock was actually crushed by the miller or how much was actually sold by him and who is the particular miller who crushed the stocks of groundnut and how much was crushed by him. In other words, the learned Government Pleader states that it is an impossible task for the authorities to trace the progress of each consignment to find out when it is actually crushed into oil. The learned counsel goes further and states that once the point of levy Is fixed with reference to the first purchase, there will not be any possibility of multiple tax arising at any subsequent point of purchase and that if this construction is to be adopted, the Government is entitled and even bound to tax only the first miller who purchases the stocks and if the point of levy is fixed at the purchase by the first miller irrespective of his conducting the milling operations with respect to the stock, no question of discrimination arises. On a plain reading of the section, we uphold this construction and hold that the words "when purchased by a miller" refer to purchase by the first miller irrespective ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he fact that purchasers of untanned hides and skins were singled out for the purposes of taxation while in other cases tax was imposed on sellers in respect of other businesses and that the said discrimination was unwarranted. The relevant rule which was considered in the said decision was rule 16 which reads as follows: "Rule 16. (1) In the case of hides and skins the tax payable under section 3(1) shall be levied in accordance with the provisions of this rule. (2) No tax shall be levied on the sale of untanned hides or skins except at the stage at which such hides or skins are sold to a tanner in the Province or are sold for export outside the Province." Explaining the scope of this rule, Venkatarama Ayyar, J., observed as follows: "The petitioners before us have not shown that the conditions in other trades are similar to those in the hides and skins business and in the absence of such showing it cannot be presumed in their favour that no such differences exist as would justify a differentiation. Conditions differ from trade to trade and, therefore, Prima facie what applies to one trade may not necessarily apply to another. Indeed the records show that the trade in untanned ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of sales of untanned hides and skins could come to an end. One was by the untanned hides and skins going into a tannery, that is to say, when they will cease to be untanned hides and skins any longer. The other way was when the untanned hides and skins were exported outside the State. Thereafter, there could be no further transaction of sale in the series. In rule 16(2)(i) a provision is made for the sale of untanned hides and skins to a tanner, and in rule 16(2)(ii), for such hides and skins which are exported. Then, the rule proceeds to fix the liability to tax In the case of hides and skins exported, the tax is levied from the dealer who was the last dealer who bought them in the State on the amount for which they were bought by him................................................... For the purpose of fixing the single point in the series of sales, the two events, namely, the sale to a tanner and export outside the State, were taken as the termini of the series of sales.........." Applying the above principles, the learned counsel for the assessees contends that if the word "tanner" means only the person who tans raw hides and skins, similarly the word "miller" should refer to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6(2) fixes in accordance with rule 4 the points of taxation at the stage of tanning or at the stage of export." Sri Anantha Babu, the learned counsel for one of the assessees, contended that section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act which Imposes restrictions on the tax on the sale or purchase of declared goods within a State does not contemplate the imposition of a tax on the same type of goods at different stages and that item 6 of the Third Schedule of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act should be construed in such a way that it should not be repugnant to the provisions of section 15(a) of the Central Act. We do not think any such contingency arises because when purchase tax is levied in respect of transactions which fall within the first limb of the second column of item 6, the tax is levied only at one stage, while the second limb of the said column comes into operation only in cases other than those covered by the first limb. In cases which fall within the second part of the said entry, the tax is also levied only at one stage. We do not therefore agree that our Interpretation comes in conflict with section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act. On the other hand, in Berar Oil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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