The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

M. S. MENON, J. - The question involved in this appeal is whether the sales tax collected from a purchaser by a registered dealer can be considered as a part of his turnover and thus assessable to sales tax under the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act, 1125. Subramonia Iyer, J., came to the conclusion that it was not possible to do so and this appeal is from his judgment - [1953] 4 S.T.C. 338 - negativing the contention of the State in O.P. No. 69 of 1952. The reasoning adopted by the learned Judge has since been quoted with approval by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court in Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Coimbatore Division v. Krishnaswami Mudaliar & Sons ([1954] 5 S.T.C. 88), wherein it was held that the amount collected by a registered dealer from a purchaser by way of sales tax did not form part of his turnover and was not liable to be taxed under the corresponding provision of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939.

2. Our attention has been drawn to the fact that the decision of the High Court of Madras has apparently been accepted as correct by that State by its choice of legislative action to confine t