S. H. KAPADIA, J.

( 1 ) LEAVE granted.

( 2 ) THIS civil appeal filed by the assessee raises the question relating to liability to pay "purchase tax" under Section 5a of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 ("1963 Act", for short ).

( 3 ) APPELLANT-ASSESSEE purchases "red oil" from unregistered dealers and converts such red oil into "sandalwood oil" by removing water content and other impurities. As regards the processing, there is no dispute between the parties. The case of the department, in short, is that the assessee is not selling red oil as such; that the commodity purchased (i. e. red oil) by the assessee has undergone manufacture when it is heated to a specified degree and the same is filtered by which impurities are removed and, therefore, according to the Department, conversion of red oil into san-dalwood oil attracts levy under Section 5a of the 1963 Act.

( 4 ) FOR the sake of convenience we quote Section 5a of the 1963 Act which reads as follows:

"5a. Levy of purchase tax. (1) Every dealer who, in the course of his business, purchases from a registered dealer or from any other person any goods, the sale or purchase of which is liable to tax under this Act, in circumstan