The judgment of the Court was delivered by

M. B. SHAH, J. - In these three references under section 69 of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, the main question which is required to be considered is whether the empty tins cannot be said to have been resold on the ground that they are used as packing material and were used as consumable stores in the manufacture of oil for sale and, therefore, the assessees are required to pay purchase tax under section 15 in respect of the purchase of empty tins from unregistered dealers.

For deciding this main question, it would be necessary to refer to sections 2(16), 2(26) and 15 of the Sales Tax Act. Section 15, inter alia, provides that where a dealer who is liable to pay tax under the Act purchases any goods specified in Schedule II or III from a person who is not a registered dealer, then, unless the goods so purchased are resold by the dealer, tax shall be levied as provided therein. In the present case, we are concerned with the phrase "unless the goods so purchased are resold by the dealer" and what meaning can be ascribed to the word "resold". If the goods are purchased by a dealer from a person who is not a registered dealer and th