R. JAYASIMHA BABU, J.

The turnover of bottles containing intravenous fluids (I.V. fluids), manufactured and marketed by the assessee, is included in the turnover relating to the fluids, by reason of section 3(7) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, which, inter alia, provides thus :

"........ where goods are sold or purchased together with the containers or packing materials the turnover of such goods shall include the price, cost or value of such containers or packing materials, and the packing charges, whether such price, cost or value or packing charges, are charged separately or not, and tax shall be levied thereon at the rate applicable to the goods contained or packed as if such containers or packing materials were the parts of the goods sold or purchased."

This provision thus deems the container to be part of the contents for the purpose of determination of the total turnover and provides for the levy of tax on the whole of such turnover at the rate at which the contents are to be subjected to tax.

The Supreme Court in the case of Premier Breweries v. State of Kerala, at page 608, held in relation to an identical provision in the Kerala General Sales Tax A