R.L. Gulati, J. - (1.) THIS and the connected cases are references under Section 11(1) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act. They relate to the same assessee, but to different assessment years. A common question of law has arisen in these cases which has been referred by the revising authority for the opinion of this court. The question is : Whether on the facts and circumstances of this case, the article ceased to be an agricultural produce and whether the tea produced by the assessee would be eligible to sales tax ?
(2.) THE assessee owns some tea gardens. The tea -leaves grown in the gardens are sold after being processed and packed. The assessee's contention is that the sale of such tea is exempt from sales tax. Under Section 3, which is the charging section, it is the turnover for a year which is taxed. The term "turnover" has been defined in Section 2(i) in the following words: 'Turnover' means the aggregate amount for which goods are supplied or distributed by way of sale or are sold, or the aggregate amount for which goods are bought, whichever is greater, by a dealer; either directly or through another, on his account or on account of others, whether for cash or deferred payment or other valuable consideration : Provided that the proceeds of the sale by a person of agricultural or horticultural produce, grown by himself or grown on any land in which he has an interest whether as owner, usufructuary mortgagee, tenant or otherwise, or poultry or dairy products from fowls or animals kept by him, shall be excluded from his turnover.
(3.) THE assessee relies on the proviso, its contention being that tea sold by it is agricultural produce grown by itself on land which belongs to it. Now, there is no dispute that tea -leaves are agricultural produce and are grown by the assessee in its own gardens. But the department's contention is that tea -leaves are subjected to a long and complicated process which converts the tea -leaves into a different commercial commodity so that the tea -leaves do. not remain agricultural produce.;