- (1.) THESE three revisions are against the orders of the Dy. Commissioner, Sales Tax, Appeals Jodhpur dated 1. 8. 62, 8. 12. 61 and 5. 5. 62. The learned counsel for the petitioner has sought to attack only those transactions of Ajmer Branch which were made prior to the merger of Ajmer State with the Rajasthan State i. e. on 1. 11. 56. His main contention is that Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was not applicable to Ajmer State before the merger of Ajmer State with Rajasthan.
(2.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner has further contended that the Sales Tax authorities have imposed sales-tax on inter-state transactions with which immune from sales tax prior to the coming into force of the Central Sales Tax Act i. e. on 1. 7. 57. THE relevant dates to be noted in these revisions are; (a) That the Ajmer Sales Tax Act came into force on 6th September, 1955 vide notification No. S. R. O. 1974 dated 6. 9. 65 published in the Gazette of India part 2 sec. 3, dated 8. 9. 55. (b) That the Ajmer State merged with the Rajasthan State on 1. 11. 56. (c) That the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act became applicable to Ajmer State with effect from 6. 6. 57 by Act No. 19 of 1957. (d) That sec. 6 of the Central Sales Tax Act came into force on 1. 7. 57 vide notification No. S. R. O. 940-A, dated 26. 3. 57. THE learned Government Advocate has only relied on R. 28 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules which reads as follows - "28' Return by a dealer having more than one place of business - THE dealer shall include in the return of turnover the turnover of all branches of his business and shall submit the return for the principal place of business, mentioning therein the turnover of all branches. He shall send an intimation thereof to every assessing authority concerned with the branch or branches. " His contention is that the principal office of the petitioner is situated in Rajasthan and in their declaration they have mentioned Ajmer as their branch and as such the turnover of Ajmer branch is taxable under Rajasthan Sales Tax Act. I have heard both the counsel for the parties and gone through the entire record. It appeals that there is a great confusion in the mind of the learned Government Advocate when he has vehemently argued that the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act would be applicable to Ajmer even though it was a separate State altogether. From the plain reading of sub-sec. (2) of sec. 1 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act it is abundantly clear that this Act would be applicable to Rajasthan territory only and as such the jurisdiction of the Sales Tax-authorities of Rajasthan will only be limited to the branches within the territory of Rajasthan as per R. 28 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules. Since the various States were not competent to charge any sales-tax on the inter-state sales, the Central Government enacted Central Sales Tax Act to cover such inter-state transactions and the Central Sales Tax Act came into force on 1. 7. 57. It is therefore clear without any shadow of doubt that - (a) The sales Ajmer Branch transacted when the Ajmer Sales Tax Act was not in force were immune from any sales tax, (b) The sales transacted in Ajmer State when the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was not made applicable to Ajmer State are only subject to Ajmer Sales Tax Act; and (c) The inter-state sales were immune from all taxes prior to coming into force of the Central Sales Tax Act. With these observations I accept all the three revisions of the petitioner and set aside the orders of the Deputy Commissioner dated 1. 8. 62, 8. 12. 61 and 5. 5. 62 and remand the cases to him to decide the appeals of the petitioner in the light of the observations made above according to law. .;