9911796707
TMI Blog1999 (9) TMI 923X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts relevant to be noted for the purpose of these cases are as follows: The assessee, M/s. I.D.L. Chemicals Ltd. (presently known as I.D.L. Industries Ltd.) manufactures industrial explosives and accessories with its head office at Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh, and factory at Rourkela in the State of Orissa. Sales are effected both inside the State of Orissa and in course of inter-State trade and commerce. Apart from the sales, goods manufactured in its factory are despatched to various places outside the State of Orissa. Originally the assessing officer on examination of accounts noted for the periods 1977-78 to 1983-84 that the assessee had sold a major portion of its products to Government undertakings, namely, Coal India Ltd., and National Mineral Development Corporation. It was observed in those proceedings that the goods in question had moved from the factory at Orissa to outside consignment agents for storing in their magazines on the basis of supply orders of the aforesaid parties and the consignment agents had no right to dispose of the goods in any other manner except acting as conduit. The transactions were held to be in course of inter-State sales, and acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nal Mineral Development Corporation holding the same as sales in the course of inter-State trade and commerce. Against the said order of assessment, assessee preferred first appeal. The Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax confirmed the assessment. The said order was challenged before the Tribunal which set aside the assessment and remanded the matter with certain directions to the assessing officer for reassessment. In the reassessment, the Sales Tax Officer keeping in view the direction given by this Court rendered in respect of the assessment years 1977-78 to 1983-84, as referred to above, held that the sales made in respect of public undertakings like National Mineral Development Corporation Limited, coal mines authorities and Coal India Limited were in the course of inter-State trade and commerce and accordingly disallowed the claim of stock transfer. He, however, allowed concessional rate of tax on a portion of the sales on resubmission of corrected declaration forms. In first appeal, the Assistant Commissioner accepted the claim of stock transfer and allowed exemption on that score. The Revenue preferred appeal before the Tribunal against the aforesaid order of the Assistan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vidence for that portion of the branch transfer for which declarations in form F were wanting at the time of assessment. Accordingly the matter was remanded for reassessment. Said order of the Assistant Commissioner was assailed before the Tribunal by the Revenue in S.A. No. 23(C) of 1996-97. 4.. On consideration of rival contentions raised by the parties before it, following points were taken up for consideration by the Tribunal: (i) Whether the transactions in respect of all the years under appeal are stock transfers made to the consignment agents of outside the State or interState sales under section 3(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act? (ii) Whether freight charges include sale price in respect of the assessment year 1990-91? (iii) Whether the learned Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax is justified to allow opportunity for production of wanting documents relating to export sales and to allow acceptance of declarations in form C produced before him after verification by the Sales Tax Officer? 5.. So far as the first issue is concerned, the Tribunal referred to certain findings and observations recorded by this Court and the Full Bench of the Tribunal by its order d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch transaction not to be inter-State sales. The assessing officer in his order dated March 31, 1995 for the year 1991-92 has also held such stock transfer not to be inter-State sales. The Andhra Pradesh Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal as well as the High Court of A.P. under analogous facts and circumstances have held the assessee s stock transfer for the year 1978-79 in respect of its Hyderabad transaction not to be inter-State sales. With so many independent findings by different authorities on the question of stock transfer during the ten individual years of business, there is no scope to hold contrary view in this regard. 6.. At this juncture it would be appropriate to quote concluding observations of this Court and the Full Bench of the Tribunal. They read as follows: High Court: There is no dispute that goods moved from one State to the other and were sold to the collieries. Dr. Pal is correct in his submission that the assessing authorities have not given any finding that goods moved out of Orissa on the basis of any contract of sale. There is dispute as to whether the requisitions sent by the collieries to the consignment agents are the contracts of sale or the letters o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... terms subject to which supplies have to be made to collieries under the control of M/s. Coal India Ltd., on placing indents by the concerned coal fields of the area outside the State of Orissa. The contract of sale from the facts available have been concluded only as and when an indent is placed by the actual customers. From the nature of transfer of stock of goods made by the manufacturing assessee, it is clear there is no evidence linking the movement of the impugned goods to the magazines outside the State having any organic link with a concluded sale prior to the transfer of goods. The letter of M/s. Western Coal Field dated September 5, 1992 indicates only allotment of monthly requirements of explosives and accessories to different areas and nothing more. The event of actual purchases and sale is triggered only after a colliery places indent with M/s. I.D.L. Chemicals Ltd., by which time the stocks are already in position at the shelfs of the magazines of the commission agents outside the State. Procedure with regard to the payment also comes into play after the event sale transaction has been completed. Hence, the methodology of payments is not germane to the issue whether a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The Tribunal indicated that the number of adjournments is not material and what is material is whether the assessee had indicated sufficient reasons for seeking adjournment. Some of the declaration forms were found to have been issued by the concerned sales tax authorities to the purchasing dealers in February, 1994, that is after the date of assessment. This according to the Assistant Commissioner indicated that the assessee was prevented by sufficient cause from producing the declaration forms. Accordingly direction was given for acceptance of declaration forms. The Tribunal found the reasoning to be proper and declined to interfere with the order. The other part of the third issue related to the challenge made by the State regarding giving opportunity by the Assistant Commissioner for production of connected documents in support of claim of export sales. The Tribunal indicated that the Assistant Commissioner found the dealer to have originally returned export sale worth Rs. 14,66,921 whereas at the assessment stage, the assessee claimed such sales to the extent of Rs. 31,85,333.24 and for the balance amount of Rs. 17,79,485.21 no revised return is available in the assessmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Tribunal was justified in saying that the decisions were rendered on consideration of factual position, the questions posed are mixed questions of fact and law. 13.. Learned counsel for the assessee submitted that the question whether a decision has been rendered correctly cannot be adjudicated bereft of the factual aspects. By taking into account the factual aspects, the Tribunal had adjudicated the matter. 14.. We find that the Tribunal has made a detailed analysis of the factual aspects and on consideration thereof has come to conclusions which are essentially factual. There is no infirmity in the factual conclusions arrived at. We have quoted the above conclusions/views of this Court, Full Bench of the Tribunal and relevant portions of the Tribunal s order while dealing with the issues involved in the present cases. At the cost of repetition, we may state that they are factual conclusions. 15.. The scope and subject-matter of sub-section (2) of section 24 of the Act, is co-extensive with that of sub-section (1), and High Court has no power or jurisdiction under sub-section (2) to travel beyond the ambit of subsection (1), i.e., any question of law arising out of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ansfers, they enter them in the registers maintained by him. Statements showing receipt of stock transfers and disposal of each consignments received by the agents are supplied to the assessee in shape of weekly statements. As and when the consignment agent receives an indent from any coal field and/or subsidiary of public sector undertakings, the agent prepares invoices and delivery challan and sends the goods by a licensed van from magazines indicating the original order issued by the CIL and public sector undertakings and/or indent number. Neither indents are placed by the collieries on the assessee nor the stocks are transported in the name of any of the collieries. From the analysis of stock and the sale statement, it is found that stock received by way of branch transfers is not sold as such to collieries and stocks are never earmarked in the names of coal fields....... That apart, the Government of India in the Department of Explosives has issued two letters dated October 18, 1989 to the assessee relating to use of explosive vans as explosive magazines with a direction to appoint consignment agents, who should store explosives in their magazines and supply it to the consumer ..... 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