1964 (4) TMI 101

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..... meaning of the Madras General Sales Tax Act. It has been assessed to tax for the years 1954 to 1958 on the turnover of its sales of Bible and other Christian religious books. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner took the view that the petitioner was not a dealer and set aside the assessment orders. The Board of Revenue, however, in exercise of its suo motu powers of revision, differed from the Ap .....

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..... iety in purchasing and selling books of religious character showed that it engaged itself in the business of buying and selling with a motive to earn profit. On these considerations the Board thought that the petitioner was a dealer within the meaning of the Act chargeable to sales tax on its sales of books. Under the Sales Tax Act it is not every sale or purchase that will be liable to tax. The t .....

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..... iness" is used in the definition of a dealer. So, a dealer under the Act is one who is engaged in trade or commerce as such of buying and selling of goods. A continuous conduct of buying and selling and/or presence of motive to make profit, though they are important components, will not, by themselves, be decisive on the question. In this case, the main object of the Society, as seen from the Memo .....

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..... e Christian literature and is not, as I think, commercial in character, it is obvious that the object does not become commercial because it is to be achieved by the normal business means. I fail to see any trade or commercial motive in the objects of the Society. Learned Additional Government Pleader draws my attention to the Religious Tract and Book Society of Scotland v. Forbes[1896] 3 Tax. Ca .....

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..... ase. I can see nothing in common between that case and the present one. The tanners, as was held in that case, were clearly engaged on a commercial purpose and activity. I hold that the petitioner is not a dealer within the meaning of the Madras General Sales Tax Act. The assessment made against it are quashed. The petitions are allowed. The petitioner is entitled to costs in one of the petition .....

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