- (1.) These are cases under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958. The question is whether timber, kerosene, limestone and cement can be treated as raw material for the purpose of the Act. "raw Material" has been defined in Section 2 (1 of the Act. On behalf of the respondent, it has been contended that the dispute is concluded by the principles laid down in the case of Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar
(2.) Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. case was decided under the provisions of the Bihar Finance Act, 1981. In that case, reliance was placed upon the decision of this court in the cases of J. K. Cotton Spg. and Wvg. Mills Co. Ltd. v. SALES TAX OFFICER and also Indian Copper Corpn. Ltd. v. Commr. of Commercial Taxes
(3.) Section 8 of the central Sales Tax Act lays down the rate of tax chargeable on sales in course of inter-State trade or commerce. It inter alia provides that every dealer who sells to a registered dealer other thangovernment goods of the description referred to in Ss. (3 shall be liable to pay tax at the rate of 4 per cent of his turnover. The goods referred to in clause (b) of Ss. (1 has been described inter alia in clause (b) of Ss. (3. That apart, pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 13 of the Act, the central Government made Rule 13 which provides as under: "13.The goods referred to in clause (b) of Ss. (3 of Section 8 which a registered dealer may purchase, shall be goods intended for use by him as raw materials, processing materials, machinery, plant, equipment, tools, stores, spare parts, accessories, fuel or lubricants, in the manufacture or processing of goods for sale or in mining, or in the generation or distribution of electricity or any other form of power. ";