Labour charges in printing and binding excluded from works contract turnover; total receipts stayed below the taxable threshold.

Receipts for printing, perforating, numbering and binding were treated as pure labour charges because the paper component was shown separately, so they did not form works contract turnover for sales tax purposes. The receipt relating to civil court work was also below the taxable limit. Even when the items were aggregated, the total turnover did not cross the minimum threshold for tax liability, so the disputed amounts were not liable to sales tax and the assessment could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the printing and binding receipts and the receipt for civil court work were liable to sales tax as works contract turnover, and whether the aggregate turnover exceeded the taxable limit.

Analysis: The receipts for printing, perforating, numbering and binding were shown separately from the paper component, and the Court treated the labour element as pure labour charges outside the scope of works contract turnover. The civil court work receipt was also below the taxable limit. Even on adding the items together, the turnover did not cross the minimum threshold for tax liability.

Conclusion: The disputed amounts were not liable to sales tax and the assessment could not be sustained.

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