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2006 (1) TMI 589

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..... oal produced by the assessee was loaded in the trucks of purchasers at the pit heads and was taken to the weighbridges for weighment owned by the assessee. The weighbridges were located in different local areas. After weighment at the weighbridges in such local areas, the trucks left for their destination. In the assessment for the periods April 1, 1980 to March 31, 1981 and April 1, 1982 to March 31, 1983, the assessing officer found that sale of such coal was completed at the weighbridges when the weight of coal was ascertained and, therefore, the sale of coal took place in local areas and as such sale of coal was liable for entry tax under the Entry Tax Act. Aggrieved by the two orders of assessment, the assessee preferred an appeal befo .....

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..... ard of Revenue, should be reformulated by this court inasmuch as the question as framed by the Board of Revenue does not indicate that the finding of Board of Revenue that sale of coal was complete only at the weighbridge was for the purpose of deciding whether entry tax was payable on such sale of coal. We find a lot of force in this submission and we accordingly reformulate the question of law as referred to us as follows: Whether, under the facts and circumstances of the case, the Board of Revenue was justified in holding that the assessee was liable to entry tax under the Entry Tax Act on sale of coal brought into the local areas for the purpose of weighment at the weighbridges and thereafter dispatched outside the local areas. .....

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..... goods in a deliverable State, but the seller is bound to weigh, measure, test or do some other act or thing with reference to the goods for the purpose of ascertaining the price, the property in the goods does not pass until such act or thing is done and the buyer has notice thereof. He argued that unless the coal intended to be sold by the assessee to a purchaser is weighed at the weighbridge located in the local area, property in the coal does not pass on to the purchaser and sale is not complete. He strenuously urged that since the sale of coal was completed at the weighbridge in the local area, the goods were liable to entry tax as per the provisions of section 3 of the Entry Tax Act. We are unable to accept the aforesaid submission .....

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..... il v. Parekh Automobiles Ltd. [1990] 1 SCC 367, the Supreme Court held that there can be no octroi duty levied by Jodhpur Municipality in respect of goods sold by Indian Oil Corporation within the municipal limit but clearly intended to be transported for use or consumption outside the municipal limit. In Tata Engineering Locomotive Company Ltd. v. Municipal Corporation of the City of Thane [1992] 86 STC 363; AIR 1992 SC 645, the Supreme Court relying on aforesaid earlier decisions in Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Co. of India Ltd., Belgaum v. Belgaum Borough Municipality, Belgaum AIR 1963 SC 906, Hiralal Thakorlal Dalal v. Broach Municipality AIR 1976 SC 1446 and Municipal Council v. Parekh Automobiles Ltd. [1990] 1 SCC 367, .....

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..... urpose of weighment and not for consumption, use or sale of goods within the local area, no entry tax is payable. The expression sale therein in section 3 of the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas for Consumption, Use or Sale Therein Act, 1979 arose for interpretation before the Supreme Court in Entry Tax Officer, Bangalore v. Chandanmal Champalal Co. [1994] 95 STC 5; [1994] 4 SCC 463 and the Supreme Court relying on its earlier decisions in Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Co. of India Ltd., Belgaum v. Belgaum Borough Municipality, Belgaum AIR 1963 SC 906, Hiralal Thakorlal Dalal v. Broach Municipality AIR 1976 SC 1446 and Municipal Council v. Parekh Automobiles Ltd. [1990] 1 SCC 367 held that the words sale the .....

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..... y say that where the goods are sold within a local area for the purpose of being taken out of that local area and are actually taken out, no levy is permissible under entry 52. It is not possible to distinguish the said decisions on the grounds suggested by Sri Murthy. There is yet another reason. Octroi or any impost in the nature of that impost has always been looked upon with certain amount of disfavour. Acceptance of the State's contention in this case would ultimately result in driving up the price of these goods to the consumer. It would become another sales tax in effect. In the circumstances, we are inclined to indeed we have no option but to affirm the decision of the Karnataka High Court on the meaning of the words 'sale t .....

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