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TMI Blog1999 (12) TMI 760X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o have been, before the sales tax authorities. If there is no answer in this regard to date, it must be presumed that there is no such notification. Consequently, no tax can be levied and the order under appeal to the extent that it states that the turnover of the assessee's cotton belting is taxable at the rate of four per cent, must be set aside. - Civil Appeal No. 14769, 14772 of 1996, - - - Dated:- 9-12-1999 - BHARUCHA S.P., WADHWA D.P. AND SANTOSH HEGDE N. JJ. R.C. Verma, C. Siddharth and R.B. Misra, Advocates, for the Department. Dhruv Aggarwal, Pahlad Aggarwal, K.B. Rohtagi and Aparna Rohtagi Jain, Advocates, for the assessee. -------------------------------------------------- M.C. AGARWAL, J.- This revisio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... raised before the Tribunal. On behalf of the respondent, the correctness of the averment made in the revision petition and the factum of filing of the written arguments was not challenged. It was contended that the cotton belting is not a cotton fabric within the meaning of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act. The issue had arisen in an earlier year in the dealer's own case [Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Agra Belting Works [1985] 59 STC 118 (All.); 1984 UPTC 619], in which the point was whether a notification issued under section 3-A negatived an exemption granted by an earlier notification under section 4 of the Act. This Court held that cotton belting manufactured by the revisionist was covered by the description "cotton fabrics of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fabrics covered partially or fully with textile flocks or with preparations containing textile flocks, if, (i) in such fabrics cotton predominates in weight, or (ii) such fabrics contain more than 40 per cent by weight of cotton and 50 per cent or more by weight of non-cellulosic fibres or yarn or both." The contention of the department is that the notification issued under section 3-A of the Act has prescribed a specific rate of tax in respect of beltings of all kinds and, therefore the cotton belting manufactured by the revisionist ceases to be a declared goods. This contention is not tenable because the State has no authority to change the character of the declared goods. If a commodity falls in the category of declared goods, as d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the State simply mentioning in a notification "beltings of all kinds" as a taxable item. The legal position that in respect of an item of declared goods, the sales tax levied by the State cannot exceed 4 per cent is undisputable and has not actually been disputed. Therefore, the Tribunal was in error in not deciding this question and since this is a pure question of law it is being decided by me, as there was no necessity for remitting the matter back to the Tribunal. The revision petition is, accordingly, allowed and it is ordered that the turnover of cotton belting sold by the dealer is taxable at the rate of 4 per cent. The Tribunal's order under revision stands modified accordingly. The parties shall, however, bear their own costs. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the sale or the rate of tax in accordance with section 3-AA. Reference is then made to the judgment of this Court in Govind Saran Ganga Saran v. Commissioner of Sales Tax [1985] 60 STC 1, and the observation with regard to section 14 of the Central Act therein to the effect that if either of the two conditions, i.e., the condition regarding the point of sale and the condition regarding the rate of tax, are not fixed by the State Government, tax cannot be levied. Learned counsel for the State Government is unable to tell us whether there is or is not such notification. 3. The High Court had decided as far back as in 1994 that the cotton belting made by the assessee was covered by section 14 of the Central Act. Since then, and certainly a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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