Purchase tax under Kerala sales tax law cannot extend to materials merely used in construction or road repair without manufacture.

Section 5A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act applies only when goods are consumed in the manufacture of other goods, and mere use of materials in construction or road repair does not amount to such manufacture. The phrase "consumed otherwise" was read as part of that manufacturing context, not as a separate and broader category covering ordinary use of sand, bricks or similar materials. On that construction, purchase tax could not be levied on a contractor's use of such materials in road work, so the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether purchase tax under section 5A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 could be levied on goods such as sand and bricks used by a contractor in road repair and construction work, and whether the expression "consumed otherwise" in section 5A(1)(a) enlarged the levy beyond goods consumed in the manufacture of other goods.

Analysis: The provision was construed in the light of the earlier ruling that section 5A(1)(a) applies where goods are consumed in the manufacture of other goods, and that a mere degree of processing or use which does not bring into existence another commercial commodity does not amount to manufacture. The Court held that the user of materials in construction or repair work is not consumption in the manufacture of other goods. The phrase "consumed otherwise" was not read as an independent and wider category divorced from manufacture, but as referring to consumption in the manufacture of other goods for purposes other than sale. On that construction, the contractor's use of the materials did not attract purchase tax under section 5A.

Conclusion: The levy of purchase tax was not sustainable on the contractor's use of the materials, and the challenge by the Revenue failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 5A(1)(a) is attracted only when goods are consumed in the manufacture of other goods, and the expression "consumed otherwise" cannot be read to extend the levy to mere use of goods in construction or repair work absent manufacture of another commercial commodity.

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