Judgment

HEGDE J. : In these appeals by certificate a common question of law arises for decision viz. On the facts and circumstances of these cases what is the point of levy of purchase tax in respect of certain transactions relating to purchase of groundnut or groundnut kernel by the assessees appellants under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1956 (in brief the Act )?

2. The Commercial Tax Officer came to the conclusion that a critical event took place when the assessee purchased the groundnut with which we are concerned in these appeals. In appeal the Assistant Commissioner upheld the order of the Commercial Tax Officer. On a further appeal by the assessees, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal disagreeing with the conclusion reached by the Commercial Tax Officer as well as the Assistant commissioner came to the conclusion, that the turnovers relating to the purchases of groundnut in question became exigible to tax either when the groundnut purchase was crushed by the millers or when the same was purchased by the last purchasers. But when the matter was taken up in revision to the High Court, the High Court reversed the decision of the Tribunal and restored the order of the Commercial Tax Officer.

3. In all these appeals, the assessees are admittedly millers. They are registered dealers under the Act. The groundnut purchased by them was either entirely used by them for extracting oil or partly used for extracting oil and partly sold to others. The levy with which we are concerned in these appeals is purchase tax. The question for decision, as mentioned earlier, is which were the events that gave rise to tax liability first purchase , the crushing of the groundnut purchased or the last purchase ?

4. The groundnut is one of the "declared goods" to be of special importance in inter-state trade or commerce under Section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and therefore in view of Section 15 (a) of that Act, the State is not empowered to levy purchase tax of more than three per cent. On the turnover in respect of those purchases and further the tax cannot be levied at more than one stage. Herein we are not concerned with inter-state sales or purchases.

5. Now turning to the Act, Section 2 (f) defines "declared goods as meaning goods declared under Section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (Central Act 74 of 1956) to be of special importance in inter-state trade or commerce. In compliance with the mandate of Sections 14 and 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, Section 6 of the Act provides that notwithstanding anything contained in Section 5 (the charging section), the sales or purchases of declared goods by a dealer shall be liable to tax at the rate, and only at the point of sale or purchase specified against each in the Third Schedule on his turnover of such sales or purchases for each year irrespective of the quantum of his turnover in such goods: and the tax shall be assessed, levied and collected 53 in such manner as may be prescribed. Here again we need not refer to that part of Section 6 which deals with inter-state trade. The only other provision which we have to notice is item 6 of the Third Schedule which deals with groundnut. The point of levy in respect of that item is when purchased by a miller other than a decorticating miller in the State, at the point of purchase by such miller and in all other cases at the point of purchase by the last dealer who buys in the State. The rate of tax is 2 paise in the rupee.

6. None of the assessees before us is a decorticating miller. Hence we have to see whether the purchases of groundnut made by them did not become taxable as soon as they made those purchases. It is now well settled that even under the Sales Tax laws, the charge in respect of a sale or purchase becomes effective as soon as the sale in the case of sales tax and purchase in the case of purchase tax is made, though the liability of the dealer can be computed only at the end of the year. The incurring of t