9911796707
TMI Blog1957 (12) TMI 18X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... availed himself of all the remedies open to him under the Act. Therefore, the three suits were for a declaration that the various orders, for the several periods, passed by the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer (Kozhikode South), the Commercial Tax Officer (Malabar South), and the Board of Revenue, are unauthorised, illegal and ultra vires and not binding on the plaintiffs and for an injunction restraining the State from collecting the amounts so illegally levied. 4.. According to the plaintiffs, they were indent agents for three Mills, namely, Aravind Mills, Asoka Mills and Rajpur Mills, all at Ahmedabad. Under the terms of the agreement they have to obtain offers from various dealers in Malabar for the purchase of cloth manufactured by those Mills and forward the orders to the Mills at Ahmedabad to be accepted by the Mills if they so chose, or to reject them if they were so inclined. For this work, the plaintiffs was getting only a commission of 2% on the value of the goods. After the introduction of the Textile Control Order by the Government of India on 15th July, 1943, there was no necessity even for such indent agents like the plaintiffs but nevertheless, they were so allowed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... p between the plaintiffs and the other 2 Mills is also governed by the same terms as in Ex. A 1. Therefore, the questions to be considered on an interpretation of Ex. A 1 are: (a) whether the sale took place within the State of Madras; and (b) whether the plaintiffs can be considered to be agents of a person resident outside the Province who carries on business of buying and selling goods in the Province of Madras. 10. Ex. A 1 is dated 1st May, 1943, and there is no dispute that that is the agreement that governs the rights of parties at all material times. It is styled an agreement entered into at Ahmedabad between Aravind Mills Ltd., Ahmedabad, and the plaintiffs residing at Calicut. The preamble states that the plaintiffs are to work as agents for the purpose of securing the offers, guaranteeing sales and deliveries of the cloth manufactured by the companies. 11.. Clause (1) appoints the plaintiffs as their agents for the purpose of securing offers, guaranteeing sales within the whole boundaries of Calicut. 12.. Clause (3) gives a right to the Aravind Mills to accept orders direct from any dealers but reserves a right to the plaintiffs to get their commission in certain circ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tant and it is as follows: "that for the purpose of this agreement, the value of goods sold would mean the sale value ex-mills and not value of railway freight and other charges." 27.. Clause (27) fixes the courts at Ahmedabad with jurisdiction in respect of the matters covered by the agreement. 28.. It is unnecessary to note the other clauses in the agreement. 29.. "Sale" before its amendment in 1948 has been defined in section 2(h) of the Sales Tax Act as follows: " 'Sale' with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions means every transfer of the property in goods by one person to another in the course of trade or business for cash or for deferred payment or other valuable consideration, but does not include a mortgage, hypothecation, charge or pledge." 30.. In the decision of the Supreme Court reported in Poppatlal v. State of Madras [1953] 4 S.T.C. 188; (1953) 1 M.L.J. 739. , their Lordships of the Supreme Court in construing this definition, have held that the stress is laid in this definition on the element of transfer of property in a sale and no other. Their Lordships also observe that a contract of sale becomes a sale under the Sale of Goods Act only w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... anding the fact that the transfer and delivery have already been effected at Ahmedabad. The delivery contemplated in those clauses is not the delivery that is spoken of in clause (13) but the actual handing over of the goods and realising the amounts due on them. There cannot be in law two deliveries in respect of the same goods. After a delivery at the premises of the Mills in Naroda Road, in our opinion, the property in the goods has passed to the respective buyers and it should be considered that in the matter of further sending the goods to the respective destination, the Mills are only acting as the agents of those dealers. 35.. This idea is again made clear by clause (20). That clause specifically says that the value of the goods sold would mean the sale value ex-mills and not the value of railway freight etc. That is perfectly logical and reasonable because the goods have been sold and delivered at the Mill premises at Ahmedabad and the further despatch of the goods is only for and on behalf of and at the risk of the buyers. 36.. In view of such specific recitals in the agreement, it is very difficulty for us to hold that the property in the goods does not pass at Ahmeda ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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