GREAT INDIA RICE AND OIL MILLS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case the assessee is a firm styled as the-Great India Rice and Oil Mills located at Garh Banaili. The assessment year is the financial year 1947-48 and the period of assessment is from the 1st of July, 1947, to the 31st of March, 1948.

(2.) The above firm carries on business in cereals, linseeds, jute, gunny bags, cement, mustard oil, etc., since the year 1945. The dealer did not apply for registration as required by the Bihar Sales Tax. Act of 1944 or the Bihar Sales Tax Act of 1947. On being detected, a notice was served on the firm to produce accounts. It Was found that the dealer's gross turnover exceeded the taxable limit during the year 1945-46, and, as such, he became liable to pay sales tax with effect from the 1st of July, 1946. The assessee has already been assessed for the period prior to the 1st of July, 1947, and we are not concerned with that assessment. For the period in question, namely, from the 1st of July, 1947, to the 31st of March, 1948, the assessee was assessed under Section 13 (5) of the Bihar Sales. Tax Act, 1947 (Bihar Act XIX of 1947), hereinafter to be referred to as the Act. Its gross turnover was determined at Rs. 14,40,378-3-3' and its taxable turnover was found to be Rs. 12,48,902. It was, therefore, assessed to pay the sales tax amounting to Rs. 19,514-2-0. Over and above that, a penalty of Rs. 956-12-0 was imposed on it on account of its failure to apply for registration. Against the assessment so made and the penalty imposed as stated above, the assessee took up an appeal to the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Bhaggalpur Division, who remanded the case with certain modifications. Thereafter the assessee moved the Board of Revenue in revision which upheld the order of the Courts below subject to certain modifications. Being aggrieved by the above order of the Board, the assessee made an application before it for making a reference to this Court, but, as in the opinion of the Board no question of law arose from its order, it rejected the application. Thereafter the assessee moved this Court under Section 25 (2) of the Act. This Court directed the Board of Revenue to state, and it has accordingly stated, a case on the following questions of law:

(3.) It may be noted that in this case the assessee did not file any return and the assessment had to be made to the best of the judgment of the Sales Tax Officer under Section 13 (5) of the Act. The account books that were produced by the assessee were found not to be genuine. The Sales Tax Officer examined certain forwarding notes and despatch registers maintained at Garh Banaili railway station of the then O. T. Railway which is the nearest station from the place where the firm, is located. From the examination of those documents he found that the dealer had despatched 31,505 maunds of jute during the period under assessment from that railway station to various destinations mostly outside the State of Bihar. He further found that 431 maunds of gunny bags were despatched by the dealer from that railway station to various other railway stations. He also found other despatches made by the dealer with respect to other commodities with which we are not concerned in the present case. Question No. 1 relates to the despatches of jute and question No. 2 to those of gunny bags. It has to be seen as to how far the above quantities of jute and gunny bags could be held to have been sold by the assessee within the meaning of the Act so as to make it liable to pay sales tax thereon.