1. The petitioner is a dealer registered under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 ("the Act"), and an assessee on the files of the first respondent. Petitioner undertakes, inter alia, execution of contract works like construction of buildings and others. For the purpose of executing these contracts, the petitioner had, in the years 1970-71 to 1978-79 and 1981-82, purchased certain materials from unregistered dealers. These purchases were brought to tax under S.5A(11)(a) of the Act as if the materials concerned had been consumed in the manufacture of other goods for sale or otherwise. Copies of the orders of assessment for these years are exhibits PI to P10, and all of them show ex facie that the purchases of these materials by the petitioner for the purpose of execution of contract works have been assessed to tax under S.5A. Petitioner as well as the first respondent, assessing authority, were both under the impression that such purchases were exigible to tax under S.5A. The tax so assessed was paid by the petitioner.

2. Whileso,and on December l7, 1986, a Division Bench of this Court of which I was a member, held in the decision in Deputy Commissioner of Sales tax v. T. Anand