- (1.) Under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act 1956, goods can be declared as goods of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce. Section 15 of that Act imposes certain restrictions upon the taxation of sales of such goods under State Sales Tax Laws. The restrictions consist of (1) a lower rate of tax (4% at present); and (2) restraint of double taxation.
(2.) In the present case we are concerned with the second restraint mentioned above. The precise issue is about the applicability of the said restriction in cases - where the goods were not declared goods under section 14 at the time of the first taxable transaction, but have come under section 14 before the second transaction taxable under the State Legislation. Relying upon the decision of a Division Bench decision of this Court in the case of Commissioner of Sales Tax Vs Chokhani Company (1982) 51 STC, 195, a Single Judge Bench of this Court in the case of Sunil Kumar Benchey Lal Vs. Commissioner of Sales-Tax, U.P. Lucknow (1987) 1 U.P.T.C. 775 held that the restriction of Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act 1956 would apply even where the goods in question were not declared as goods of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce under Section 14 of the Central Act at the time of the first sale inviting tax liability, but have been so declared before the second sale where the disputed State sales tax is sought to be imposed. In this sales tax revision, another Single Judge Bench of this Court disagreed with the aforesaid view taken in the case of Sunil Kumar Benchey Lal (supra) and referred the question whether that decision does not lay out the correct law and requires re-consideration.
(3.) Primarily, the correctness of the decision of Sunil Kumar Benchey Lal (supra) was doubted on the ground that the decision in the case of Chokhani Company (supra) was a case where the goods in question (oil seeds) had been "declared goods" under Section 14 of the Central Sales Tax through out the assessment year in question, which in Chokhani's case was 1975-76; and therefore it was doubted that the decision in the case of Sunil Kumar Benchey Lal (supra) was not right in holding that the Chokhani's case would apply even where goods which were not "declared goods" under Section 14 at the time of the first taxable transaction of sale, and had been ''declared' under that Section just prior to the second sale.;