TMI Blog1985 (7) TMI 330X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es. - Civil Appeal No. 404, 405, 406, and 407 of 1978, STR No. 15, 17, 18, 19 of 1974 - - - Dated:- 8-7-1985 - PATHAK R.S. AND VENKATARAMIAH E.S. JJ. P.A. Francis, Senior Advocate (S.P. Nayar and Miss A. Subhahini, Advocates, with him), for the respondent. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by PATHAK, J. -These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana disposing of four references under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948. The respondent-firm, Messrs. Amrit Roller Flour Mills, carries on business at Chandigarh. It is registered as a dealer under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (hereinafter ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rder had been issued, and to clause V of the licence under which the respondent carried on his business, and holding that the respondent was obliged to follow the instructions of the concerned authority in regard to the purchase of wheat, or the extraction of maida, suji and rawa as well as in regard to the distribution and disposal of such products, the High Court took the view that there was no sale. In adopting that view the High Court preferred to follow its decision in Food Corporation of India v. State of Punjab [1976] 38 STC 144. In these appeals by the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the sole question is whether the transactions effected by the respondent fall within definition of "sale" under the Act. Clause (h) of section 2 of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Sub-section (2) of section 3 details that an order under sub-section (1) may provide for controlling the price at which any essential commodity may be bought or sold, and for regulating by licences, permits or otherwise the storage, transport, distribution, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of any essential commodity and for requiring any person holding in stock, or engaged in the production, or in the business of buying or selling, of any essential commodity, to sell the whole or a specified part of the quantity held in stock or produced or received by him, or likely to be produced or received by him, to the Central Government or a State Government or such other person as may be specified in the Order. In the exercise of that power ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... overnment and the Corporation and then between the Corporation and the other States was a single composite process originating in an arrangement between the Central Government and the State Governments under which the State Governments were required to contribute to a central pool a certain percentage of foodgrains intended for supply to deficit States through the agency of the Corporation, that there was no profit-motive at any stage and the Corporation did not act as a dealer in the legal sense when it passed on the goods to other States. Accordingly, the Food Corporation of India, the High Court concluded, could not be said to sell the rice and was therefore not liable to pay sales tax, there being no freedom of contract within the meani ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d by a specified statutory authority and at a price not exceeding the notified price. The appellant, who was a licensed stockist of cement was permitted to stock cement in its godown and to supply it to persons in whose favour allotment orders were issued and at the price stipulated and in accordance with the conditions in the permits issued by the authorities. Pursuant to the allotment orders the appellant supplied cement to various allottees from time to time in accordance with the terms of the licence obtained by it. The appellant was assessed to sales tax, and in appeal it contended that there was no sale because having regard to the stringent provisions of the Cement Control Order no violation or bargaining power was left to it and t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|