The movement of goods from one State to another must be occasioned by a sale or purchase in the course of inter-State trade or commerce in order to attract the presumption under section 3(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

SYED SHAH MOHAMMED QUADRI, J.

( 1 ) THESE three tax revision cases, relating to the same assessee but pertaining to different assessment years, are preferred by the State under section 22 (1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 (for short "the State Act"), against the common order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal in appeals dated 1/07/1987. The question, which pertains to assessment of sales tax under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (for short "the Central Act"), is common in the three revisions and arises out of common facts. Therefore, they are heard together and are being disposed of by a common judgment.

( 2 ) FOR appreciating the question in these cases, we would refer to the facts in Tax Revision Case No. 148 of 1988. It relates to the assessment year 1980-81. The turnover of the assessee included turnover of an amount of Rs. 53,96,110, in respect of which claim for exemption was accepted by the assessing authority under section 6-A of the Central Act on the ground that it is in respect of stock transfers to the branches of the assessee and that it was also covered by declarations in form "f". The Deputy Commissioner (C. T.), Visakhapatnam, in exercise of the revisional power under section 20 of the State Act, revised the assessment and withdrew the exemption granted by the assessing authority in respect of the disputed turnover, referred to above. On appeal by the assessee, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal allowed the appeal holding that the disputed turnover related to stock transfers and thus confirmed the order of the assessing authority. Assailing the correctness of the order of the Tribunal, the tax revision case is filed by the State.

( 3 ) THE learned Government Pleader for Commercial Taxes contends that the movement of the goods was occasioned by the sale of the paints by the assessee to the Shipping Corporation of India Limited (for short "s. C. I. "), therefore, the turnover is in respect of inter-State sale under section 3 (a) of the Central Act. He further contends that the effect of withdrawal of the exemption by the revisional authority would be that the "f" forms were not accepted. Therefore, the Tribunal s order will have to be set aside and the disputed turnover will have to be assessed to tax.

( 4 ) MR. A. K. Jaiswal, learned counsel for the assessee, on the other hand, contends that the movement of the goods was only from the head office to branches and that the sale was effected by the branches to the Shipping Corporation of India, therefore, the movement of the goods cannot be said to have been occasioned by the sale of the goods. The burden of proof to show that the movement of the goods was otherwise than in the course of inter-State sale, was discharged by the assessee by producing declarations in "f" forms, which have been accepted by the assessing authority and that no inaccuracy or incorrect entry in the declaration having been pointed out in the "f" forms, the revisional authority cannot withdraw the exemption.

( 5 ) IN view of the above contentions, two questions arise for consideration. (1) Whether the disputed turnover relates to inter-State sales; and (2) What is the effect of the presumption under section 6-A of the Central Act, when declarations in form "f" are filed by the assessee and accepted by the assessing authority ?

( 6 ) WE shall take up these two questions together. We may note here that section 6 of the Central Act, which is the charging section, levies tax under the Central Act on all sales of goods, other than electrical energy, effected by every dealer in the course of inter-State trade or commerce during any year on and from the notified date. Section 9 of the Central Act provides that the tax payable by any dealer under the Central Act on the sale of goods effected by him in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, whether such sale falls within clause (a) or clause (b) of section 3, shall be levied by the Government of India and shall be collected by

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