Inter-State sales complete on passing of property; registered dealer status before delivery validated concessional tax treatment.

Inter-State sales completed only when property in the goods passed, and not merely on dispatch, where the seller retained the right of disposal by sending railway receipts through banks and the buyers retired the documents only after payment. Because the purchasers became registered dealers before taking delivery, the sales were treated as completed after registration and the C form declarations were valid for concessional tax treatment under the Central Sales Tax Act. The disallowance of the concessional rate was therefore incorrect in law.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to the concessional rate of tax under Section 8(1) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 when the inter-State purchasers became registered dealers only after the goods were dispatched but before delivery was taken.

Analysis: The decisive question was the time at which the sales were completed. The goods were dispatched with railway receipts sent through banks, and the purchasers retired the documents only after payment of the price. Until such retirement, the assessee retained the right of disposal, so property in the goods did not pass on the dates of dispatch. Applying the principle that property passes when the parties intend it to pass, the sales were treated as completed only when the purchasers took delivery after they had registered themselves under the Act. The C form declarations furnished by such registered dealers were therefore valid for the concessional rate.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the concessional rate of tax, and the disallowance made by the authorities was /incorrect in law.

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