General sales tax exemption extends to inter-State niwar sales where the State notification imposed no restrictive conditions.

Section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 applies where goods are exempt from tax generally under the relevant State sales tax law. A State notification under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 exempted sales of niwar by registered dealers without any restriction on the nature of the sales. The exemption remained a general one even though it was confined to registered dealers and operative for a specified period, because it was not limited to specified circumstances or conditions within the Explanation to section 8(2A). The assessee's inter-State sales of niwar were therefore exempt from tax under section 8(2A).

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Issues: Whether sales of niwar by a registered dealer, exempt from tax under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 by virtue of the State notification, were also exempt from tax under section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Analysis: Section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 makes the tax payable on inter-State sales nil where, under the sales tax law of the appropriate State, the sale of the goods by a dealer is exempt from tax generally. The State notification issued under section 12 of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 exempted sales of niwar by registered dealers without any restriction or condition as to the nature of the sales. The fact that the exemption was limited to registered dealers and operated for a specified period did not convert it into an exemption granted only in specified circumstances or under specified conditions within the meaning of the Explanation to section 8(2A).

Conclusion: The exemption under the State law was a general exemption for the relevant class of sales, and the assessee's inter-State sales of niwar were exempt from tax under section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

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