Judgment

V.N. Khare, J.-The appellant herein is a company registered under the Indian Companies Act having its registered office at Bankshal Street, Calcutta in the State of West Bengal and factory at Jamshedpur in the State of Bihar. The appellant manufactures tinplates and black plates in its factory at Jamshedpur and is registered under the Bihar Sales Tax Act and Central Sales Tax Act.

2. For the assessment year 1985-86, the appellant had filed its re­turn. The Commercial Tax Officer by its order dated 01.12.93, assessed the appellant under the Central Sales Tax Act for the period 1.4.85 to 31.3.86, after disallowing the appellant’s entire claim of stock transfer of outside States and treating the same as inter-State sales and thus levied tax @ 10% thereon. In pursuance of the said assessment order the Commercial Tax Officer issued a notice of demand for a sum of Rs. 4,53,50,430. The appellant challenged the aforesaid assessment order and the notice of demand by means of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Judicature at Patna. In the said writ petition, the respondents therein raised a preliminary objection that in view of an alternative