Prakash Krishna, J. - (1.) THE dealer -opposite party, a registered limited company, has been carrying on the business of manufacturing and selling calcium carbonate and admitted tax liability of Rs. 19,10,445.62 under the Central Sales Tax Act during the assessment year 1993 -94. The assessing authority found that the applicant has charged freight and handling charges separately and in this head it has collected Rs. 68,69,873. It was further found that it has realised a sum of Rs. 75,28,189 from the customers towards the freight and handling charges and as such the dealer -opposite party has charged Rs. 6,58,316 in excess from its customers which shall part of the sale price and it was taxed accordingly. The said part of the assessment order was confirmed by the first appellate authority but has been set aside by the Tribunal in Second Appeal No. 94 of 1999 relating to the assessment year 1993 -94 (Central).
(2.) IN the memo of revision the following questions of law have been sought to be raised: (a) Whether the Trade Tax Tribunal was legally justified to quash the tax imposed on the sale of Rs. 6,58,316 without recording no reason for the same? (b) Whether the Trade Tax Tribunal was legally justified to exempt the amount of freight and handling charges? The learned Counsel for the Department in support of the revision submits that under Section 2(h) of the Central Sales Tax Act, the excess amount amounting to Rs. 6,58,316 shall form part of "sale price" as defined therein. Shri Bharatji Agrawal, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the dealer -opposite party, submits that since the above amount was charged separately in the bill it shall not form part of the "sale price" as defined under Section 2(h) of the Act.
(3.) CONSIDERED the respective submissions of the learned Counsel for the parties and perused the record. The controversy in the present revision revolves around the interpretation of Section 2(h) of the Central Sales Tax Act. For the sake of convenience the said section is reproduced below: 2.(h) 'sale price' means the amounts payable to a dealer as consideration for the sale of any goods, less any sum allowed as cash discount according to the practice normally prevailing in the trade, but inclusive of any sum charged for anything done by the dealer in respect of the goods at the time of or before the delivery thereof other than the cost of freight or delivery or the cost of installation in cases where such cost is separately charged.;