Turnover excludes sales tax collected as tax where the facts do not show it formed part of the sale price.

Sales tax collected by a registered dealer was not treated as part of turnover under section 2(k) of the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act on the facts found. The court held that amounts collected as sales tax are not automatically included in turnover; whether they form part of the sale price depends on the particular facts and circumstances. Earlier authority supported exclusion where the collection was made as tax and not as price, and the Supreme Court observations relied on did not create an invariable rule. On the pleadings and findings, the State failed to show that the collections formed part of the sale price, so the refund decree was affirmed.

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Issues: Whether sales tax collected by a registered dealer, on the facts of the case, formed part of the turnover within the meaning of section 2(k) of the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act, 1125, so as to justify the assessment and defeat the claim for refund.

Analysis: The definition of turnover did not necessarily treat every amount collected as sales tax as part of the sale price. Earlier authority had held that sales tax collected as sales tax, and not as part of the price, was outside turnover. The observations relied on from the Supreme Court only indicated that such collections may in a proper case be treated as part of the sale price and turnover, but they did not lay down an invariable rule. Whether the amount formed part of the price depended on the facts and circumstances of the particular case. On the pleadings and findings in the present case, the State had not shown that the collections were part of the sale price; the material pointed the other way.

Conclusion: Sales tax collected in this case did not form part of the turnover, and the decree granting refund was in law and was affirmed.

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