Section 10 exemption for refunded inter-State sales tax collected before the amendment came into force.

Section 10 exemption applied where a dealer had initially collected sales tax on inter-State sales but refunded it before the Central Sales Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1969 came into force. The provision was read purposively: relief was not to be denied merely because tax had been collected at first and later repaid before the statutory change. Once refunded, the position was treated as equivalent to no tax having been collected on those transactions, and the dealer satisfied the statutory condition for exemption from sales tax on the disputed inter-State sales.

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Issues: Whether a dealer who initially collected sales tax on inter-State sales but refunded the amount before the Central Sales Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1969, came into force was entitled to exemption under section 10.

Analysis: Section 10 exempted a dealer from liability where inter-State sales during the specified period had been effected and no tax had been collected on the footing that such levy was impermissible. The Court held that the provision could not be read in a narrow literal manner so as to deny relief merely because tax was first collected and later repaid before the Ordinance. Once the amount had been refunded before the statutory change, the position was treated as equivalent to one in which no tax had been collected at all. The object of the provision was to prevent collection of tax on such transactions, and the dealer satisfied that requirement.

Conclusion: The dealer was entitled to the exemption under section 10 and was not liable to sales tax on the disputed inter-State sales.

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