I.A. Ansari, J.

1. The case of the petitioner-company may, in brief, be described thus:

(i) The petitioner, a public limited company, is engaged in the business of sale and supply of petroleum products inside as well as outside the State of Assam. The petitioner-company's case is that it hires trucks/tankers for delivery of petroleum to its dealers and, in course of its business, the petitioner-company enters into agreement with contractors as regards its hiring of trucks/tankers on various terms and conditions. The petitioner-company pays to the contractors hire charges for using the trucks/tankers specified in the Schedule attached to the respective agreements. As per the agreements, the contractors are liable to bear and pay the entire cost of the trucks/tankers, given on hire to the petitioner-company, including maintenance, repairing, insurance, fuel and salaries to the drivers, cleaners, etc. The petitioner-company does not guarantee the minimum mileage for each vehicle, which it obtains on hire, and it does not guarantee the minimum number of vehicles, which it may utilize per month. There is, thus, according to the petitioner-company, no transfer of the right to use v