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TMI Blog1956 (4) TMI 43X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of the relevant provisions of the Madras General Sales Tax Act (hereafter referred to as "the Act"), which, by reason of section 53 of the Andhra State Act, is in force in the territory now forming part of the State of Andhra. The descriptive title of the Act is "An Act to provide for the levy of a general tax on the sale of goods in the State of Madras." The provisions of the Act, so far as they are now relevant, run as follows: Section 2(b): "'Dealer' means any person who carries on the business of buying or selling goods." Section 2(i): "'Turnover' means the aggregate amount for which goods are either bought by or sold by a dealer whether for cash or for deferred payment." Section 3 provides that the turnover for all purposes of the Act shall be determined in accordance with, and the tax shall be assessed, levied and collected in such manner and in such instalments as may be prescribed by the rules made by the State Government in that behalf. Every dealer whose turnover is Rs. 10,000 or more for a year shall submit such return or returns of his turnover in such manner and for such periods as may be prescribed under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 3. There is a p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l) and cake may be entitled to deduct from his gross turnover under rule 18 subject to the conditions specified in that rule." The other relevant provision is contained in rule 18, which runs thus: "(1) Any dealer who manufactures groundnut oil and cake from groundnut and/or kernel purchased by him may, on application to the assessing authority having jurisdiction over the area in which he carries on his business, be registered as a manufacturer of groundnut oil and cake. (2) Every such manufacturer shall be entitled to a deduction under clause (k) of sub-rule (1) of rule 5 equal to the value of the groundnut and/or kernel purchased and converted by him into oil and cake provided that the amount for which the oil is sold is included in his turnover. (3) Every such manufacturer shall submit so as to reach the registering authority not later than the 25th day of every month a statement in Form A-9 in respect of the transactions relating to the previous month. (3-A) If any such manufacturer fails to submit the statement in Form A-9 within the time specified in sub-rule (3) or if he omits to furnish any of the particulars required by that form, the Commercial Tax Officer may, in his d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cified in that rule. Rule 18(1) requires any dealer who manufactures groundnut oil and cake to be registered as a manufacturer. Rule 18(2) which allows the deduction makes explicit reference to every such manufacturer, that is to say, a manufacturer of oil who gets himself registered under rule 18(1). Rule 18 (2) imposes two further conditions, viz., that the oil should have been manufactured and sold by the dealer who has registered himself as a manufacturer and that the amount for which the oil is sold should be included in his turnover. It is only when these conditions are fulfilled that deduction equal to the value of the groundnut and kernel purchased by him and converted into oil and cake is permissible. There is a further obligation under rule 18(3), viz., that every such manufacturer shall submit so as to reach the registering authority not later than the 25th day of every month, a statement in Form A-9 in respect of the transactions relating to the previous month. This is to enable the assessing authority to allow deduction or to fix the amount thereof under rule 18(2). This exemption is allowed only in the case of unrefined groundnut oil but does not apply to refined oil. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rted by the Legislature. If under the provisions of a taxing statute an asses- see claims an exemption, it is for that person to show that he has been exempted. Therefore provisions providing for exemption may be properly construed strictly against the person who makes the claim of an exemption. In other words, before exemption can be recognised, the person or property claimed to be exempt must come clearly within the language apparently granting the exemption. (Vide Crawford on the Construction of Statutes, page 506). The same principle has been laid down by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court in P.A. Raju Chettiar & Brothers v. Commissioner of Income-tax(2), where Rajamannar, C.J., and Yahya Ali, J., observed thus: "It is manifest, therefore, that section 26-A as well as the rules and the particulars required in the form have all been designed to enable the assessment to be done on registered firms in the manner provided under sub-section (5)(a) of section 23. It is for this purpose of the utmost importance that the real partner should be disclosed and the precise shares of each of the partners should be mentioned and these particulars should represent the real state of af ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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