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TMI Blog1974 (5) TMI 93X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e petitioners/appellants. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the court was delivered by ALAGIRISWAMI, J.- The question for decision in these cases is about the liability to sales tax under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act of "watery coconuts". The Act contains four schedules. The First Schedule contains goods in respect of which a single point sales tax only is leviable under section 5(2)(a). The Second Schedule contains goods in respect of which a single point purchase tax only is leviable under section 5(2) (b). The Third Schedule contains declared goods in respect of which a single point tax only is leviable under section 6. The Fourth Schedule contains goods exempted from tax under section 8. By an amendment made in 1961, there was till 1963 only one entry, "coconuts", in the Third Schedule and the Fourth Schedule contained "tender coconuts which are useful only for drinking purposes" which were exempted from tax. An explanation to the Third Schedule read as follows: "The expression 'coconuts' in this Schedule means fresh or dried coconuts, shelled or unshelled including copra, but excluding tender coconuts." By am ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d Schedule relating to "watery coconuts" and the explanation thereto were omitted and this amendment was given effect to from August 1, 1963. Item 5 of the Third Schedule was amended as "coconuts of all varieties" and a new item 5-A was introduced which reads as follows: "5-A. Watery (i) At the point of last purchase in the 2 paise in coconuts State during the period commencing the rupee. on the 1st August, 1963, and ending with the 31st March, 1965. (ii) At the point of first sale in the State 2 paise in during the period commencing on the the rupee. 1st April, 1965, and ending with the 22nd December, 1966. (iii) At the point of first purchase in the 3 paise in State during the period commencing the rupee. on the 23rd December, 1966, and ending with the date immediately before the date of the commencement of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1971: Provided that where during the aforesaid periods, any tax has been levied and collected in respect of watery coconuts, and where tax has also been levied and collected in respect of coconuts formed out of such watery coconuts, the tax so levied and collected in respect of such watery coconuts shall alone b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or other authority to the contrary, the assessing authority may assess or reassess the amount of tax payable by the dealer on his turnover relating to coconuts of all varieties during the period commencing on the 1st August, 1963, and ending with the date immediately before the date of the commencement of this Act, in accordance with the provisions of the principal Act, as amended by this Act. (2) Notwithstanding the expiration of any of the periods specified in section 14 of the principal Act, an assessment or reassessment under sub-section (1), may be made within a period of one year from the date of commencement of this Act." Another statutory provision which should be noticed is section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act with regard to what are called declared goods. Item (vi) therein originally read as follows: "(vi) oil-seeds, that is to say, seeds yielding non-volatile oils used for human consumption, or in industry, or in the manufacture of varnishes, soaps and the like, or in lubrication, and volatile oils used chiefly in medicines, perfumes, cosmetics and the like;" By Amendment Act 61 of 1972, which came into effect on April 1, 1973, it was amended as follows: "(v ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Act was amended by specifying the stage as the last purchase or sale of declared goods by a dealer liable to pay the tax and making the stage quite clear, and by giving the dealer an option not to include other transactions in his returns and thus saving him from the liability to pay the tax till he was the dealer liable to pay the tax. This court then pointed out that the information whether his was the last purchase or sale was always possessed by a dealer and by providing that he need not include in his turnover any transaction except when he was the last dealer, the position was made clear. It is this decision that will be applicable to the facts of this case. In this connection we may point out that the provisions of rule 45 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Rules are similar. It provides that "every dealer has to maintain a true and correct account showing the value of the goods produced, manufactured, bought and sold by him, the names and addresses of the persons from whom goods were purchased, supported by a bill or delivery note issued by the seller. Every dealer carrying on business in the goods specified in the First, Second and Third Schedules whose total tu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ondition are undoubtedly different as articles of merchandise than tanned hides and skins" and pointed out that 'the fact that certain articles are mentioned under the same heading in a statute or the Constitution does not mean that they all constitute one commodity". We may also refer to the decisions in Jagannath v. Union of India [1962] 2 S.C.R. 118., where tobacco in the whole leaf and tobacco in the broken leaf were treated as two different commodities, East India Tobacco Co. v. State of Andhra Pradesh [1962] 13 S.T.C. 529 (S.C.); [1963] 1 S.C.R. 404., where Virginia tobacco and country tobacco were treated as two different commodities, and Venkataraman v. Madras [1970] 25 S.T.C. 196 (S.C.); [1970] 1 S.C.R. 615., where cane jaggery and palm jaggery were treated as two different commodities. We do not think that the Act can be said to contravene section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act. Under the Act though watery coconuts and dried coconuts are treated separately there is a provision for refund when the same watery coconuts, which have suffered tax, become dry coconuts later. It is for this contingency that, as we have pointed out earlier, provision for refund is made. In a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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