COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES Vs. BHAG SINGH MILKHA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the instance of the State of Bihar, this court directed under Section 33(3) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as "the State Act"), the Commercial Tax Tribunal, Bihar, to state cases and refer to the High Court the question whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that sales of timber by the assessee-dealer worth Rs. 31,416.09 for the period of assessment 1960-61 and Rs. 33,163.13 for the period of assessment 1961-62 had taken place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce and were not liable to be taxed under the State Act. These two tax cases arise out of the aforesaid references. Tax Case No. 69 relates to the year 1960-61 and Tax Case No. 70 to the year 1961-62.

(2.) The Tribunal has found the following facts and they are not in dispute;-

(3.) The Superintendent of Commercial Taxes, Hazaribagh, who made the assessments and the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chotanagpur Division, on appeal, held that the sales by the assessee-dealer to the purchaser for the aforesaid amounts during the aforesaid periods of assessment were not in the course of inter-State trade and, therefore, liable to be taxed under the State Act. On a revision, the Tribunal held that the sales were in the course of inter-State trade and were not liable to be taxed.