Sales tax collected from buyers is not part of sale price and cannot be added to taxable turnover.

Where the sales tax law separately authorises a registered dealer to collect tax from purchasers, the amount so collected is not part of the valuable consideration for the sale. On the Bihar Sales Tax Act scheme, "sale price" covers only the consideration for the goods sold, while "turnover" is the aggregate of sale prices received and receivable. Amounts realised as sales tax and remitted to the Government are legally distinct from sale price and cannot be added to taxable turnover. The stated conclusion follows the statutory definitions and the amendment scheme recognising separate tax collection by the dealer.

---

---

Issues: Whether the amount realised by a registered dealer from customers as sales tax formed part of the "sale price" and was includible in the taxable turnover under the Bihar Sales Tax Act.

Analysis: The statutory scheme distinguished between the price payable as consideration for the sale and the amount recovered by the dealer by way of tax. Section 14A, inserted by the amending Act, expressly permitted a registered dealer to realise an amount by way of tax on sales subject to prescribed restrictions, showing that such collection was legally separable from the sale price. Sections 2(h) and 2(i) defined "sale price" as the valuable consideration for the sale and "turnover" as the aggregate of sale prices received and receivable. On that construction, the amount collected as sales tax and remitted to the Government was not part of the consideration for the goods sold and therefore could not be added to the taxable turnover. The conclusion was consistent with the binding Division Bench view that followed the amendment scheme.

Conclusion: The amount realised as sales tax did not form part of the sale price and was not includible in the assessee's taxable turnover; the question was answered in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the sales tax law separately authorises a registered dealer to collect tax from purchasers, the amount so collected is not part of the valuable consideration for the sale and cannot be included in the dealer's taxable turnover as sale price.

---