DESAI, J. - (1.) THIS petition, principally for certiorari for the quashing of an assessment order passed on 24th March, 1962, by a Sales Tax Officer and an order passed by the Sales Tax Commissioner on 23rd October, 1961, refusing to issue certain directions to the Sales Tax Officer has been referred by our brother Manchanda to a larger Bench on account of a conflict among various High Courts on the question of law involved in the impugned orders.
(2.) THE assessee is a dealer carrying on inter-State business in khandsari sugar in Uttar Pradesh. The question in this petition is of assessment to sales tax for the assessment year 1957-58 on the turnover of inter-State sales in khandsari sugar. Sales tax is payable on turnover of inter-State sales under the Central Sales Tax Act, No. 74 of 1956. It defines dealer to mean any person who carries on the business of buying and selling goods and turnover to mean the aggregate of the price received in respects of sales of any goods in the course of inter-State trade. Section 6 lays down that every dealer shall be liable to pay tax under the Act on all sales effected by him in the course of inter-State trade during any year. Rates of tax payable by a dealer under the Act are laid down in section 8. It is not in dispute that the rates mentioned in sub-section (1) are not applicable in the instant case and it is sub-section (2), which reads as follows, that it applicable :- "The tax payable by any dealer in any case not falling within sub-section (1) ......... shall be calculated at the same rates and in the same manner as would have been done if the sale had, in fact, taken place inside the appropriate State, and for the purpose of making any such calculation any such dealer shall be deemed to be a dealer liable to pay tax under the sales tax law of the appropriate State, notwithstanding that he, in fact, may not be so liable under that law." Section 9 deals with the levy and collection of tax; it empowers the State authorities competent to assess, collect and enforce payment of any tax under the State Sales Tax Act to assess, collect and enforce payment of tax under the Central Sales Tax Act and the provisions of the State Act including those relating to returns, appeals, reviews etc., are to apply accordingly.
(3.) UNDER the U.P. Sales Tax Act every dealer has to pay a tax at the rate of 2 naye paise per rupee on his turnover of each assessment year to be determined in the prescribed manner, but a dealer is not liable to pay tax if his turnover of the assessment year is less than Rs. 12,000, vide section 3. The assessee has been assessed on a turnover of Rs. 12,360, so he would not be exempt from payment of the U.P. sales tax. Section 3-A provides that notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, the State Government may declare that the turnover in respect of any goods shall not be liable to tax except at such single point in the series of sales by successive dealers as may be specified. In exercise of this power the State Government has declared, through Notification No. 907, dated 31st March, 1956, that tax on the turnover of khandsari sugar shall not, with effect from 1st April, 1956, be paid except at the point of sale by an importer or manufacturer thereof. The assessee is neither an importer nor a manufacturer of khandsari sugar and, therefore, under the notification it would not be liable to pay tax under the U.P. Sales Tax Act even though its turnover was Rs. 12,360. No tax is payable on the sale of water, milk, salt etc., and of any other goods which the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette exempt, vide section 4. Khandsari sugar is not among the exempted goods. Section 4-A confers power upon the State Government to exempt the turnover in respect of certain goods by the manufacturer for a certain period. We are not concerned with this provision. The procedure for determination of turnover and assessment of tax is laid down in section 7. Section 8 provides for recovery of the assessed tax and section 9, 10 and 11 for an appeal from an assessment order, revision of an assessment order or an appellate order and reference of a question of law to the High Court.;