Dealer status under sales tax law depends on who contracts, transfers title, and collects price, not the label used.

An entity acting under an arrangement with another trader is a dealer under the Central Sales Tax Act when it has possession of the goods, contracts with purchasers in its own name, transfers property in the goods, and collects the sale price. On those facts, the company was not a mere commission agent or broker but carried on the business of selling goods as principal. It therefore fell within section 2(b) and was liable for sales tax on the inter-State sales effected by it. The assessment and challenge to tax liability were sustained.

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Issues: Whether the appellant-company, acting under an arrangement with the State Trading Corporation for sale of cement, was a dealer within the meaning of section 2(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and liable to pay sales tax on the inter-State sales effected by it.

Analysis: The company had possession and custody of the cement, issued invoices in its own name, entered into contracts for sale, transferred property in the goods to the purchasers, and realized sale price from them. The agreement also authorised it to collect sales tax and discharge liabilities arising as a dealer under the Sales Tax Acts and Rules. On these facts, the company was not a mere commission agent or broker selling on behalf of a disclosed principal. The definition of dealer under the Central Sales Tax Act covers a person carrying on the business of buying or selling goods, and a seller who deals with customers as principal falls within it even if acting under an agency arrangement with another entity.

Conclusion: The appellant-company was a dealer under section 2(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and was liable to pay sales tax on the sales in question.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the appellant itself effected the sales and incurred the tax liability, and the assessment and dismissal of its challenge were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A person who, though styled as an agent, has possession of the goods, enters into contracts of sale in its own name, transfers property to buyers, and realizes the sale price carries on the business of selling goods and is a dealer for sales tax purposes.

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