Judgement

HEGDE, J. : These appeals by special leave arise from the common order made by the Madras High Court in T. C. Nos. 117 to 119 (revisions Nos. 71 to 73) on its file. The Indian Steel and Wire Products Ltd., a joint stock public limited company is the appellant in all these appeals.

2. At the instance of the steel controller, the appellant supplied certain steel products to various persons in the Madras State during the financial years 1953-54, 1954-55 and part of 1955-56 (from April 1, 1955 to September 6, 1955). The State of Madras assessed the turnovers of the appellant relating to those transactions to sales tax under th Madras General Sales tax Act, 1939 (Madras Act 9 of 1939) (to be hereinafter referred to as the Act), the law in force at that time. The appellant has been assessed to tax on the basis of best judgment. The authorities under the Act have determined the appellant s turnover during the year 1953-54 at Rs. 31,29,520 and levied a tax of Rs. 16,298/4 annas. During the financial year 1954-55, its turnover was determined at Rs. 37,59,216 and the assessment levied is Rs. 58,737-12-0. For the broken period in the financial year 1955-56, the appellant s turnover was determined at Rs. 14,53,292 and the same was assessed to tax at Rs. 22,707-12-0, Even according to the appellant its turnovers during 1953-54 was Rs. 29,12,533-14-0, in 1954-55. Rupees 39,71,493-7-0 and in 1955-56, Rupees 17,25,400-5-0. Therefore, there is little room for controversy about its turnovers in the relevant years. The appellant is contesting the right of the State of Madras to levy tax on the turnovers in question. According to the appellant, the turnovers in question could not have been considered as sales and consequently they could not have been brought to tax under the Act. The appellant asserts that deliveries in question were made under compulsion of law and there was no agreement between the parties. They were made in pursuance of the orders of the Controller exercising powers under the Iron and Steel (Control of Production and Distribution) Order, 1941 (which will hereinafter be referred to as the order), which was issued under the Defence of India Act, 1939. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that it was the controller who determined the persons to whom the goods were to be supplied, the price at which they were to be supplied, the manner in which they were to be transported, and the mole in which the payment of the price was to be made. In short, it was said that every facet of those transactions were prescribed by the controller and therefore those transactions cannot be considered as sales. On the basis of those assertions support was sought from the decision of the House of Lords in Kirkness v. John Hudson and Co. Ltd., 1955 AC 696 the decision of this Court in M/s. New India Sugar Mills Ltd. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax, Bihar, (1963) Supp 2 SCR 459: the decision of the Calcutta High Court in Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax, West Bengal, 1951-19 ITR 406: the decision of the Orissa High Court in Messrs. Cement Ltd. v. The State of Orissa, 1961-12 STC 205 (Ori) and a few other decisions. It was further argued that even if those transactions re considered as sales the State before exercising its taxing power should have had in its possession material to show that the goods delivered by the appellant were delivered in that State for consumption which circumstance alone can make those transctions sales within that State; as no material was placed on record to show that the goods in question were delivered in that State for consideration it could not have brought the turnovers in respect of those transactions to tax under the Act. These contentions of the appellant have been rejected by the authorities under the Act as well as by the High Court. Other contentions advanced on behalf of the appellant deserve to be summarily rejected for the reasons to be mentioned hereinafter.

3. The pr