Goods intended for use must be 'in mining' and not merely associated with mining operations.

1. This is an application under Art.226 and Art.227 of the Constitution for the issue of a direction to the opponents for specification of certain goods in the certificate of registration issued to the petitioner under S.7 (3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 .

2. The petitioner is a joint stock limited liability private company carrying on the business of mining coal and trading in coal and coke. It is the owner of the West Chirimari Colliery situated in Sarguja district. The petitioner - company applied for registration as a dealer under S.7 of the Act. In the application for registration, which the petitioner made in 1957 in Form A prescribed by the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, the goods to be purchased by the petitioner as a dealer in the course of inter - state trade were first specified as "explosives, lubricants, fuel, timber, machinery, colliery stores etc., as per list attached." These goods were stated as for use in production of coal. The applicant clearly stated that none of the goods to be purchased was for resale. A certificate was issued to the petitioner on 27th June 1957. In that certificate the petitioner's business was stated to be of wholesale distribution of coal and the goods specified for purpose of S.8 (1) of the Act were lubricant oil, fuel and explosives.
The petitioner then applied for amendment of the certificate so as to include in the specification more goods which, according to the petitioner, were used by it in the production of coal. This was granted. Then another application was made by the petitioner for specification of further goods in the registration certificate. This was partly granted. The applicant's prayer for the specification of iron and steel, medicines and insecticides, welding sticks, sanitary fittings, motor trucks, spare parts of motor trucks including tyres and tubes, furniture, and stationery was rejected by the Sales Tax Officer.

3. The petitioner then preferred a revision petition before the Commissioner of Sales Tax contending that all the goods referred to above were required "for the purpose of manufacture and mining of coal". The learned Commissioner took the view that the applicant had not stated the precise iron and steel goods which were required in mining and that the other goods of which specification was sought were not any goods required "for use in the manufacture or mining of coal". Accordingly he rejected the revision petition.

4. The sole question that arises for determination in this case is whether the goods stated above are of the class of which specification can be made in the certificate of registration for the purposes of S.8 (1). The Central Sales Tax Act, as stated in the preamble, is an Act providing for the levy, collection and distribution of taxes on sales of goods in the course of inter - State trade or commerce, and for formulating principles for determining when a sale or purchase of goods takes place in the course of inter - state trade or commerce or outside a State or in the course of import into or export from India. S.3 deals with the question as to when a sale or purchase of goods is said to take place in the course of inter - state trade or commerce. S.4 relates to the question as to when a sale or purchase of goods takes place outside a State. S.5 indicates as to when a sale or purchase of goods takes place in the course of import or export.
S.6, which is the charging section, lays down that every dealer shall be liable to pay tax under the Act on all sales effected by him in the course of inter - State trade or commerce. A 'dealer' has been defined in