9911796707
TMI Blog1997 (9) TMI 593X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the levy of tax on the goods, moved by it to its godown at Thane and Bombay as also imposition of penalty thereon, has come up with this revision. 2.. The godown of the assessee at Thane is at No. 23/31, Love lane, opp. ACC Cated Centhi, near Ragada Police Station, Thane, Bolapur Road, Village Ragada, District-Thane Ragada. The goods were despatched to this godown by the assessee through its transport contractors South Freight Carriers Private Limited. The lorry receipt obtained from that transporter by the authorities showed that the goods were despatched from Sahupuram in this State to Bombay. It showed that the assessee as the consignor, and the consignee was described as the assessee at the godown referred to earlier. The instructi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts customers at Bombay, the dates on which goods were despatched from this State to its godown at Bombay and the details of the amount of the bill, the assessment orders made by the sales tax authorities at Bombay were filed to show that local sales tax had been paid on the sale of these goods at Bombay. Some of the bills and orders were placed before us at the time of hearing. They show that the orders are subsequent to the date of the arrival of the goods at Bombay. Numerous details regarding these goods from the time of the despatch to the ultimate sale and the assessment to these transactions at Bombay had been filed before the authorities. The documents filed by the counsel for the assessee before us run to over 200 pages, and is said ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that these records revealed definite evidence to conclude that there were inter-State element and link between the assessee and buyer at Bombay." The reference to the consignment sale was in the context of the fact that some of the consignments has been sent to an agent on the agent's instruction and those "consignments" had been treated by the assessing authorities as interState sales. In relation to those consignments, there was no dispute about the fact that the agent had several lines of business at different locations and that the despatches were made to the agent. 7.. The Tribunal has used strong terms to assert its conclusion that the transactions cannot but be inter-State sales. As to whether transaction is an inter-State sale or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ess and produced before the Tribunal have not been considered by the Tribunal, then such a finding will have to be examined with a great deal of caution. If the materials available on record do not support the assertion of the Tribunal its "finding" has only to be regarded as perverse; especially when the assessment orders produced by the assessee show that local sales tax had been paid on these sales in the other State. 10.. The only document which the authorities relied on to hold that the goods consigned to the godowns of the assessee at Bombay were in fact goods moved pursuant to inter-State sales is the lorry receipt. That lorry receipt was not prepared by the assessee. It was prepared by the transporter. That receipt clearly mentions ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as to be by the consignee also does not by itself indicate that the goods had been sold by way of inter-State sales. The only consignee party mentioned in the lorry receipts is the godown of the assessee. 11.. The Tribunal has chosen to read this instruction regarding delivery as indicating knowledge on the part of the assessee about the ultimate buyer at Bombay, even before the goods were despatched, from Sahupuram in this State. The imposition of liability for tax only on the basis of this instruction cannot be sustained. Imposition of liability for tax cannot depend upon speculation as to what was meant by the person who prepared the lorry receipt by using words such as unloading by the consignee parties. The transaction of sale before ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ved by the assessee from this State to its godown at Thane under these lorry receipts. 13.. In so far as the delivery receipt which showed the consignee as Berlia Chemicals is concerned, the document on the face of it would show that the goods were despatched from this State to a buyer in another State. The finding of the Tribunal that those despatches were part of the turnover by way of inter-State sales, cannot be interfered with, though the learned counsel for the assessee contended that Berlia Chemicals was merely the name of the location at which the assessee had a godown and that goods despatched to Berlia Chemicals were in fact consignments meant to itself. The certificate of registration of assessee does not also show the location ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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