Quarrying contract exemption does not cover outright sale of quarried metal without agreed severance from land.

Exemption under G.O. Ms. No. 1091 for earth work or gravel quarrying contracts was construed narrowly by reference to the statutory definition of "goods". The relief applied only where the transaction involved an agreement to sever earth or gravel from the land before sale, or under the contract of sale itself. Sales of metal quarried from the assessee's own land, without any quarrying or severance contract, were treated as ordinary sales and not as quarrying contracts. The exemption therefore did not apply, and the disputed turnover remained liable to sales tax.

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Issues: Whether the turnover from sales of metal quarried from the assessee's own land was exempt under G.O. Ms. No. 1091, Revenue dated 10th June, 1957, as an earth work or gravel quarrying contract.

Analysis: The exemption was construed in light of the definition of "goods" in section 2(h) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. The relief under the Government Order was confined to contracts of earth work or quarrying of gravel and contemplated a contract involving an agreement to sever earth or gravel from the land before sale or under the contract of sale. The transactions before the Court were found to be simple sales of metal quarried from the assessee's own land, with no contract for severance or quarrying as such. Earlier decisions construing similar notifications were followed to hold that a mere sale of quarried material is not the same as a quarrying contract.

Conclusion: The exemption did not apply and the assessee was liable to sales tax on the disputed turnover.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption granted for earth work or quarrying contracts does not extend to out-and-out sales of quarried material unless the transaction itself is a contract involving agreed severance from the land before sale.

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