9911796707
TMI Blog1980 (3) TMI 239X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssee is a co-operative society-Champakulam Village Service Co-operative Society, Alleppey. During the relevant assessment years, the society, as part of its business, had been dealing in various varieties of fertilisers such as rock phosphate, ultrafos, dolomite, peramphos, azo and thomas phosphate. In the retuns filed by it for the three assessment years the assessee had not included the aforementioned varieties of fertilisers in the taxable turnover on the basis that the sales effected by the assessee in respect of these goods not being the first sales within the State were not taxable inasmuch as the goods fall within the description "chemical fertilisers including bone-meal" in item 54 of the First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under challenge in these tax revision cases filed on behalf of the State. 3.. Item 54 of the First Schedule, as it stood at the relevant time, was as follows: "Sl. No. Description of the goods Point of levy Rate of tax (per cent) 54. Chemical fertilisers includAt the point of first 2." ing bone-meal. sale in the State by a dealer who is liable to tax under section 5. It is contended by the learned Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the revision-petitioner that neither rock phosphate nor any of the other varieties of fertilisers sold by the assessee such as ultrafos, dolomite, thomas phosphate, peramphos and azo can be regarded as "chemical fertilisers" so as to attra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Pleader, in order to classify an item of fertiliser as chemical fertiliser it must satisfy the test of its being a substance produced by human agency by application of chemical process to some raw material and the said test is not satisfied in the case of rock phosphate. 5.. The Government Pleader is, in our opinion, right in his submission that the decision of this Court in State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. v. Sales Tax Officer[1972] 30 S.T.C. 93; 1972 K.L.J. 741. cannot be regarded as an authority laying down that rock phosphate is a chemical fertiliser. There was no occasion for this Court in that case to consider the said question because no contention was put forward by the State that rock phosphate was not a chemical fertili ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e has now been rendered unnecessary in view of the clear indication given by the legislature itself about its intention to regard rock phosphate in all its forms as a "chemical fertiliser" by the amendment effected in item 64 of the First Schedule to the Act by Act 21 of 1978 [The Kerala General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act. 1978). By the said amendment, which was introduced by section 22 of Act 21 of 1978, original item 64 of the First Schedule was deleted and in its place a new item was substituted, which has 23 sub-items. In sub-items (i) to (xxii) are specified various varieties of fertilisers and sub-item (xxi) is rock phosphate. Sub-item (xxiii) is in the nature of a residuary item and it reads: "Any other chemical fertilisers." The word ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... whether rock phosphate is a fertiliser falling within the description "chemical fertiliser" in item 54 of the First Schedule, as it stood prior to the amendment. In this view, it is unnecessary for any further investigation being conducted as to whether or not rock phosphate In its different forms is liable to be treated as a chemical fertiliser. On this limited ground we uphold the conclusion recorded by the Tribunal that rock phosphate is a chemical fertiliser falling within the purview of item 54 of the First Schedule to the Act. 7.. The question still remains as to whether the other varieties of fertilisers going by the names ultrafos, dolomite, peramphos, azo and thomas phosphate are also liable to be treated as chemical fertilisers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of rock phosphate, we set aside the order of the Tribunal and remand the three appeals-T.A. Nos. 823, 824 and 825 of 1977-to the Tribunal for fresh disposal after a de novo determination of the aforesaid question as to whether the varieties of fertilisers sold by the assessee under the names ultrafos, dolomite, peramphos, azo and thomas phosphate are chemical fertilisers falling within the purview of item 54 of the First Schedule. The Tribunal will afford an opportunity to both sides to adduce further documentary evidence in respect of this matter and it will also be at liberty to remit the case for determination to the assessing authority if such a course is considered necessary by the Tribunal. 8.. The tax revision cases are disposed o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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