Sales tax on packing materials depends on proof of an express or implied agreement to sell the containers with the goods.

The value of containers used for hydrogenated oil is assessable to sales tax only where the transaction shows an express or implied agreement to sell the containers as part of the bargain. No separate price for the packing material is not decisive; a sale may still be inferred from the surrounding facts and evidence. Whether the containers formed part of the sale is a question of fact to be decided on the record in each case, rather than by a pure rule of law.

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Issues: Whether the value of containers of hydrogenated oil is assessable to sales tax under the Assam Sales Tax Act, 1947 in the absence of a separately charged price for the containers.

Analysis: Liability to sales tax depends on whether the transaction shows an express or implied agreement to sell the containers themselves. A sale may be inferred from the circumstances even if no separate price is fixed for the packing material, and the question whether the containers formed part of the bargain is one of fact to be determined on the evidence in each case. The High Court erred in answering the reference as a pure rule of law without examining whether such an agreement existed on the facts.

Conclusion: The value of the containers is assessable to sales tax if there is an express or implied agreement for their sale.

Ratio Decidendi: Packing materials are taxable as part of the sale only when the facts show an express or implied agreement to sell them as part of the bargain.

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