- (1.) THIS is an appeal from a judgment of Mr. Justice Chowdhary, dated the 4th March, 1955, quashing an order of assessment dated the 16th March, 1952, made by the Sales Tax Officer, banaras, against the respondent company.
(2.) THE respondent company is incorporated under the Indian Companies Act and has its registered office in Bombay. It has branch offices at Calcutta, Madras and Delhi, but it is common ground that it has no office or agent within this State. In the course however of its business the company supplied goods to persons in the United Provinces. These goods were despatched by rail to purchasers in this State by the company's branch office at Calcutta where payment for the goods was made.
(3.) IN respect of the assessment year 1948-49 the respondent company was assessed to sales tax on the turnover of the goods despatched from Calcutta to the United Provinces. The company, in the petition out of which this appeal arises, challenged the validity of the assessment on two grounds. It contended, in the first place, that the company was not a "dealer" within the meaning of the U. P. Sales Tax Act, and, secondly, that as the company had not under Rule 6 of the Rules made under that Act made a declaration as to which Sales Tax Officer should be the assessing authority, and as the Commissioner had also failed to determine as to who the Sales Tax Officer should be, no assessment could validly be made.;