Commission agent with custody and title-transfer authority is a dealer under sales tax law, ownership not required.

A commission agent is a dealer under the Central Sales Tax Act when, in the course of business, he has custody or control of goods and authority to transfer title to purchasers; ownership of the goods is not required. The law distinguishes such an agent from a mere broker who only brings buyer and seller together. On the accepted facts, the company issued invoices, held the cement, was authorised to pass property in it, was registered as a dealer, and collected sales tax from purchasers, so it was rightly treated as a dealer and the revision petition failed.

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Issues: Whether a commission agent who has custody of the goods and authority to transfer property in them to purchasers is a dealer liable to tax under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Analysis: The definition of dealer under the Act turns on whether a person carries on the business of buying or selling goods, and does not require ownership of the goods. The definition of sale is wide enough to include transfer of property by a person authorised to do so. A distinction is drawn between a mere broker, who only brings buyer and seller together, and a commission agent who has possession or control of the goods and authority to pass title. On the facts accepted by the company, the invoices were issued by it, it had custody of the cement, and it was authorised to transfer property in the goods to purchasers. The company had also been registered as a dealer and had collected sales tax from purchasers.

Conclusion: The company was rightly treated as a dealer under the Act and the revision petition fails.

Ratio Decidendi: A person who, though not the owner, has custody of goods and authority to transfer title in them in the course of business of selling goods is a dealer within the meaning of the sales tax statute.

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