Ranganathan, J. - (1.) These are two appeals by certificate from the common order, dated 15-2-74, of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Misc. Petns. Nos. 6904 and 6906 of 1973. They can be disposed of together since the question raised is the same. This common question arises out of the assessments to central sales tax of the respondent, Oriental Coal Corporation of Moradabad (hereinafter referred to as 'the assessee'), for the assessment years 1987-68 and 1968-69.
(2.) The relevant facts bearing on the controversy may be briefly stated. The assessee is a firm of coal merchants with its place of business in Jharia (Bihar State) and an office at Moradabad (in U. P.). It is not registered either under the Central or the State Sales Tax Act. According to the assessee it places orders for coal on the collieries at Jharia on behalf of constituents in Uttar Pradesh, realises the sale proceeds and remits the same to Jharia. The Sales Tax Officer assessed the assessee to sales tax in respect of the turnover of the coal thus supplied by the assessee. The assessee filed two writ petitions alleging that the assessment orders were without jurisdiction on several grounds. The High Court allowed the writ petitions on one of these grounds and hence did not go into the other contentions. It referred to S. 9 of the Central Sales Tax Act, as it stood at the relevant time, and held that the provision cast a liability to tax only on a registered dealer and not an unregistered dealer like the assessee. It is the correctness of this decision that is challenged in the present appeals.
(3.) Section 9 relied upon by the High Court, reads thus: "9. (1) The tax payable by any dealer under this Act on sales of goods effected by him in the course of inter-State, trade or commerce, whether such sales fall within clause (a) or clause (b) of Section 3, shall be levied by the Government of India and the tax so levied shall be collected by that Government in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2), in the State from which the movement of the goods commenced. Provided that, in the case of a sale of goods during their movement from one State to another, being a sale subsequent to the first sale in respect of the same goods., the tax shall, where such sale does not fall within sub-section (2) of Section 6, be levied and collected in the State from which the registered dealer effecting the subsequent sale obtained or, as the case may be, could have obtained, the form prescribed for the purpose of clause (a) of sub-section (4) of Section 8 in connection with the purchase of such goods. (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, the authorities for the time being empowered to assess, re-assess, collect and enforce payment of any tax under general sales tax law of the appropriate State shall, on behalf of the Government of India, assess, re-assess, collect and enforce payment of tax, including any penalty, payable by a dealer under this Act as if the tax or penalty payable by such a dealer under this Act is a tax or penalty payable under the general sales tax law of the State; and for this purpose they may exercise all or any of the powers they have under the general sales tax law of the State; and the provisions of such law, including provisions relating to returns, provisional assessment, advance payment of tax, registration of the transferee of any business, imposition of the tax liability of a person carrying on business on the transferee of, or successor to, such business, transfer of liability of any firm or Hindu undivided family to pay tax in the event of the dissolution of such firm or partition of such family, recovery of tax from third parties, appeals, reviews, revisions, references, (refunds, rebates, penalties) compounding of offences and treatment of documents furnished by a dealer as confidential, shall apply accordingly: Provided that if in any State or part thereof there is no general sales tax law in force, the Central Government may, by rules made in this behalf make necessary provision for all or any of the matters specified in this sub-section." The High Court pointed out that, under the terms of the section, tax on sales of goods effected by a dealer in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be levied in the State from which the movement of the goods commenced:in this case, the State of Bihar. The proviso, however, carves out an exception. It provides that, if there is a subsequent sale of the same goods in the course of their movement from one State to another and such sale is effected by a registered dealer, tax can be levied and collected in the State from which such dealer obtained or could have obtained the forms prescribed under S. 8(4)(a) (popularly known as 'the C Form'):in this case, the State of Uttar Pradesh. But the High Court pointed out, the assessee was not a registered dealer and so there was no scope for his being taxed in the State of U. P. The High Court accordingly quashed the assessments in question and hence these appeals by the State.;