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TMI Blog1991 (12) TMI 266X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on Limited is a registered company having its registered office at Gauhati in Assam carrying on the business of purchase and sale of petroleum coke. The company purchased raw petroleum coke and paid tax under the provisions of the Assam (Sales of Petroleum and Petroleum Products, including Motor Spirit and Lubricants) Taxation Act, 1955 (for short "the Assam Act"). Out of the said raw petroleum coke the company manufactured calcined petroleum coke and sold most of the calcined petroleum coke in the course of the interState trade or commerce and also paid tax under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Under section 15(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, the Government of Assam has to refund the tax levied under the Assam Act. But the Superintendent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ales Tax Act. 5.. The question which, therefore, arises for consideration is whether the Legislature of Assam was competent to classify the petroleum coke into two commercial commodities, namely, raw petroleum coke and calcined petroleum coke. 6.. Article 286 of the Constitution imposes certain restrictions on the power of the State as to imposition of tax on sale or purchase of certain goods which was termed as the "goods declared". Clause (3) of article 286 of the Constitution reads: "Any law of a State shall, in so far as it imposes, or authorises the imposition of,- (a) a tax on the sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce; or (b) a tax on the sale or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stment Co. Ltd. [1987] 61 Comp Cas 663; AIR 1987 SC 1023. In view of the use of the word "include" in the expression "coal, including coke in all its forms", the expression means any product of coal or coke, in whatever form it may be. At this stage, it will be helpful to refer to an observation made by the Supreme Court in India Carbon Ltd. v. Superintendent of Taxes [1971] 28 STC 603, in which the Supreme Court has stated that "at any rate, the language employed is so wide, viz., 'coke in all its forms', that petroleum coke which is a form of coke cannot possibly be excluded merely by reference to the word "coal". For the reasons stated, the raw petroleum coke and/or the calcined petroleum coke will come within the meaning of the phrase " ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lared goods. 10.. As stated earlier, clause (a) of section 15 imposes restrictions on the sales tax law of a State that the State law cannot impose tax on a sale or purchase inside the State of declared goods at more than one stage. It has already been concluded that raw petroleum coke and calcined petroleum coke are goods declared and they are to be treated as one and the same for the purpose of item (i-a) of the list under section 14 of the Central Act. Therefore, although the Assam Act has treated the raw petroleum coke and the calcined petroleum coke, which are goods declared, as different commodities for the purposes of sales tax law of the State, the treatment as two different commodities cannot prevail over section 14 of the Centra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the same declared goods are subsequently the subjectmatter of inter-State sale and tax is paid on such transaction under the Central Act, the dealer will be entitled to refund of tax paid under the State law. As stated earlier, the raw petroleum coke and the calcined petroleum coke are declared goods and are to be treated as one and the same for the purpose of item (i-a) of the list under section 14 of the Central Act and that the treatment of such declared goods as two different commodities cannot override the Central Act. Therefore, the contention of the learned Advocate-General that they are two different commodities for the purpose of sales tax law of the State and that tax paid cannot be refunded has to be rejected. For these reasons, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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