HARI SWARUP, J. - (1.) SIMILAR questions have been referred in these three references under section 11(3) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act made at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax. The question of law referred to us for opinion is in the following terms : "Whether, under the circumstances of the case, the purchases made by the assessee with respect to the goods not notified under section 3-D(1) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act can be added in the purchases of the goods notified under section 3-D(1) for the purpose of determining whether the assessee's turnover during the year was above the taxable limit of Rs. 12,000, as provided under section 3-D(3) of the U.P. Sales Tax Act ?"
(2.) THE assessee is a dealer within the meaning of the U.P. Sales Tax Act. He made purchases during the relevant years of goods which were liable to tax under section 3-D(1) of the Act as well as of goods which were not taxable under that section. The turnover of purchases of taxable goods was less than Rs. 12,000, but if aggregated with the turnover of purchases of non-taxable goods, if exceeded Rs. 12,000. The Additional Judge (Revisions), Sales Tax, took the view that the turnover of purchases of non-taxable goods was not liable to be added to the turnover of taxable purchases for purposes of determining if the turnover was entitled to exemption granted by sub-section (3) of section 3-D of the U.P. Sales Tax Act. The contention of the department is that turnover under sub-section (3) of section 3-D means the turnover determined after aggregating the turnover of purchases of both the taxable as well as non-taxable goods. The plea of the assessee is otherwise. Section 3-D was for the first time introduced in 1958 by the U.P. Sales Tax (Amendment) Act (19 of 1958). The relevant portion of the section introduced in 1958 was as follows : "Section 3-D : Levy of purchase tax. - (1) There shall be levied for each such assessment year a tax on the turnover of purchases of every dealer in respect of such goods or classes of goods and at such rates, not exceeding four naye paise per rupee, as may from time to time be notified by the State Government in the official Gazette. On the issue of such notification, no sales tax under this Act shall be levied on the turnover of the goods so notified : Provided that no dealer shall, except as provided in sub-section (2), be liable to pay tax under this section if his turnover of purchases during the assessment year in respect of such goods is less than Rs. 30,000 or such larger amount as may be prescribed in that behalf ..............." By the same Act by which section 3-D was introduced, an explanation was added in section 2(i), which defines the term "turnover", and another section 2(ii) was added to define "turnover of purchases". Section 2(i) as it existed at that time read as follows : "'turnover' means the aggregate of the proceeds of sale by a dealer : 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.) BY Act 19 of 1958 the following explanation was added : "Subject to the provisions of sections 3-D and 3-E, the word 'turnover' shall, in respect of a dealer in goods notified under sub-section (1) of section 3-D, be deemed to include 'turnover of purchases' also." ;