( 1 ) THE central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (for short the Act) was amended by insertion of Ss. (3 of Section 5 by Act No. 103 of 1976 with effect from 1/4/1976. The said Section 5 (3 reads as under:

"5. When is a sale or purchase of goods said to take place in the course of import or export.- (1- (2

(3 Notwithstanding anything contained in Ss. (1, the last sale or purchase of any goods preceding the sale or purchase occasioning the export of those goods out of the territory of India shall also be deemed to be in the course of such export, if such last sale or purchase took place after, and was for the purpose of complying with, the agreement or order for or in relation to such export. "

( 2 ) THE common contention of the appellants in this batch of appeals is that the judgment of this court in the case of State of Travancore-Cochin v. Shanmugha Vilas Cashew Nut Factory deals with Article 286 of the Constitution and does not conclude the questions raised in these cases. It has been contended in the first place that cashew bought and sold by theappellants in the course of export trade is not different from cashew kernels. It has further been contended that the judgment in Shanmugha Vilas ca