The sale of unused application forms, tender forms, registration plans, dismantled materials, and empty cement bags by the Andhra Pradesh Housing Board is not a business activity within the meaning of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act and is not liable to tax under the Act.

Y. V. ANJANEYULU, J.

( 1 ) THESE two tax revision cases are filed by the State and they relate to the assessment years 1973-74 and 1975-76. The A. P. Housing Board is the respondent. It appears the Commercial Tax Officer, VI Circle, Hyderabad, gathered information that the respondent had effected sales of unused application forms, iron scrap, etc. The Commercial Tax Officer was of the view that the sales so effected by the respondent were liable to be taxed under the A. P. General Sales Tax Act ("the Act", for short) and that the respondent could be regarded as a "dealer" for the purpose of section 2 (1) (e) of the Act. The Commercial Tax Officer initiated assessment proceedings and assessed the respondent, inter alia, for the assessment years 1973-74 and 1975-76 on the following items : @@------------------------------------------------------------------------ Particulars Assessment year Assessment year 1973-74 1975-76 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rs. Rs. 1. Sale of application forms. 56,500-00 1,60,336-00 2 Sale of tender forms. 6,400-00 24,441-00 3 Cost of registration plans. 4,600-00 6,353-00 4 Sales of dismantled material. 67,200-00 4,212-00 5 Sale of empty cement bags. 43,400-00 60,506-00 ----------- ----------- 1,78,100-00 2,55,848-00 ----------- -----------@@

( 2 ) THE Commercial Tax Officer, accordingly levied a tax of Rs. 5,495 and Rs. 9,629 respectively for the assessment years 1973-74 and 1975-76. We may at this stage indicate that the assessment orders are brief and do not contain any reasons for regarding the respondent as a "dealer" under the Act and taxing the aforesaid sales in the hands of the respondent. All that is stated in the assessment order is : "according to the annual account it is found that Andhra Pradesh Housing Board has effected sale of scrap, etc. , besides sales of house construction by the Board. The sales of scrap, etc. , is liable to tax as per the Supreme Court judgment in the case of District Controller of Stores, Northern Railway, Jodhpur v. Assistant Commercial Taxation Officer [1976] 37 STC 423. "

( 3 ) AGGRIEVED by the aforesaid orders the respondent filed appeals before the Assistant Commissioner (CT) (Appeals), Hyderabad-1 Division. The first appellate authority found that the respondent sold "old, unused forms and papers and they were disposed of in order to create more office accommodation". The first appellate authority then referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in District Controller of Stores, Northern Railway v. Assistant Commercial Taxation Officer, Jodhpur [1976] 37 STC 423 and held that the Supreme Court decision supported the assessments made on the respondent. He accordingly held that the assessments were rightly made and dismissed the appeals. The respondent filed second appeals before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal observed that the turnovers disputed in the appeals related to the sales effected by the respondent of "old, unused forms and papers and unserviceable material". After examining exhaustively the facts and the law bearing on the point, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the respondent cannot be regarded as a "dealer" under the Act, and the respondent does not also carry on business in old, unused forms, papers and other unserviceable material. In that view, the Tribunal allowed the appeals and quashed the assessments made by the Commercial Tax Officer. The State is, therefore, in revision against the order of the Tribunal.

( 4 ) THE learned Government Pleader contended that the assessments made on the respondent were proper. Inviting our attention to the expressions, "business" and "dealer", occurring in section 2 (1) (bbb) and section 2 (1) (e) respectively in the Act, learned Government Pleader submitted that the respondent fulfilled the requirements for being regarded as a "dealer" under the Act. It is also urged that in terms of the definition of the expression, "business", the respond

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