9911796707
TMI Blog1982 (11) TMI 144X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot its sales depots at several places in the State. In the sale invoices made out by these depots, freight charges are included and collected from the purchasers. The contention of the assessee before the first assessing authority was that the freight charges are liable to be deducted under rule 6(g) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Rules (hereinafter referred to as A.P.G.S.T. Rules). In other words the contention was that inasmuch as they constitute post-sale charges, they are liable to be deducted under the said rule. This was negatived by the first assessing authority, as also by the first appellate authority. The matter then came up before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. Under its judgment dated 9th December, 1977, the Tribun ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd the total of all these amounts is Rs. 2,405.92 as per the invoice. We must observe that besides the sale invoice, the assessee has not placed before the authorities any other material, in the nature of contract or agreement or any other material, to establish his contention. It is only on the basis of the invoice, Mr. Dasaratharama Reddi argues that the freight charges must be treated as post-sale charges. We are of the opinion that this contention cannot be accepted. So far as the principle is concerned, there can be little quarrel about it. The test in such cases is, whether particular charges are incurred prior to the sale or subsequent to the sale? In other words, the enquiry ought to be at what point has the sale taken place. Any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tely in the bill or included in the total sale price. It was observed that in such a case the freight and handling charges are expenses incurred by the dealer in making the goods available at the place of sale. The second example is, where a dealer, instead of transporting the goods from his factory, or his place of business and selling them there, enters into a contract of sale f.o.r. destination railway station. It was observed that in such a case, the seller undertakes the obligation to put the goods on rail and arrange to have them carried to the destination railway station at his expense and that the delivery of the goods to the purchaser is complete only at the destination railway station and till then the risk continues to remain wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this category. The test, in the words of the Supreme Court, is, "was the contract one for delivery at destination railway station or was it a contract in which delivery to the purchaser would be complete as soon as the goods are put on rail at the place of despatch?" Applying the principle of the said decision to the case before us, the enquiry should be whether the contract was to deliver at the place of the customer or was the delivery complete at the premises of the assessee. Unfortunately in this case, the assessee has not placed any material before the authority to show that the delivery was complete or that the sale was complete, as it is called, at his premises. The only material produced by him is the sale invoice and it clearly ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sales tax or freight. The only relevant question is as to what is the amount payable by the purchaser to the dealer as consideration for the sale and not as to what is the net consideration receivable by the dealer, the court observed. In the absence of any evidence produced by the assessee to show that the delivery or sale was complete before the transport of the goods, or at the premises of the assessee, and also in the absence of any evidence to show that there is any express stipulation between the parties that the freight charges were to be borne by the purchaser, as in the case of Hyderabad Asbestos' case [1969] 24 STC 487 (SC) we see no reason to take a different view from that of the Tribunal. Mr. Dasaratharama Reddi then sough ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
