The court ruled that inadvertent errors in sales declarations do not invalidate claims for turnover deductions under the Sales Tax Act.

1. This is a reference under S.44(1) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act , 1958, by the Sales Tax Tribunal (Board of Revenue) at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh. The questions, which have been referred for decision, are -
"1. Whether an appeal against the order of the Commissioner of Sales Tax passed in revision u/S. 22(5) of the C.P. and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, as extended to Vindhya Pradesh lies to the Board ?
(2) Whether the present appeal was an appeal u/S.39(3) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act and was within time ?
(3) Whether the declarations which were not on form No. IX under the C.P. and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, as extended to Vindhya Pradesh, and in which the words 'use in the manufacture' were not scored out could be accepted as correct declarations if the purchasing dealers certified the purpose of resale subsequently ?"

2. The assessee, M/s. Caltex (India) Ltd., is a dealer in petrol and other petroleum products carrying on business at various places in India including Satna, which was in the material assessment year, namely, 1957-58, a part of the former Vindhya Pradesh State. During the assessment year, which was governed by the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, as extended to Vindhya Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the assessee claimed a deduction from its turnover of the sale transactions of the value of Rupees 14,12,045.15 being sales made by it to registered dealers. The deduction was claimed under S.2(j)(a)(ii) of the Act which permitted the deduction of turnover of sales to a registered dealer of goods declared by him "in a prescribed form as being intended for re - sale by him" from the aggregate turnover. The assessee filed declaration forms signed by the registered dealers to whom its products had been sold. The forms in which the declarations were made contained the words that the goods purchased from the assessee are "for re - sale / for use in manufacture of goods for sale". The words ''for use in manufacture of goods for sale" had been scored out in some forms. In other forms they had not been scored out. Before the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Rewa, who made the assessment, the assessee filed an application, along with certificates signed by the registered dealers, stating that they had purchased the goods for re - sale and in some forms they had forgotten to delete the words "for use in manufacture of goods for sale". The assessing authority refused to allow the deduction stating that the declaration forms were not in the prescribed form and they were also defective in that the words "for use in the manufacture of goods for sale" had not been scored out and that consequently it was not possible to hold that the goods sold by the assessee to registered dealers were for re - sale; and that under S.2(j)(a)(ii) of the Act the deduction of turnover could not be allowed in respect of goods sold "for use in manufacture of goods for sale."

3. The assessee then preferred a revision petition before the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh. This was filed on 9th March 1959, that is, before the coming into force on 1st April 1959 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, S. 52 of which repealed inter alia the C.P. and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, as extended to Vindhya Pradesh. The Sales Tax Commissioner agreed with the view taken by the Assistant Commissioner and dismissed the revision petition preferred by the assessee. He, however, issued a notice to the assessee to show cause why the assessment should not be enhanced by taxing the sales of light diesel oil at the rate of Re. - / 1/- per rupee instead of