Agency in cotton purchases excluded sales tax where the assessee acted for mills and not on his own behalf.

Turnover representing cotton purchased in the name of the mills was not liable to sales tax in the assessee's hands because the purchases were made as an agent for the mills, not as his own sales. The tribunal could infer agency from the surrounding circumstances, including the manner of purchase, the accounting entries, and the absence of material showing that the cotton was not supplied to the mills or that the price came from any source other than the mills.

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Issues: Whether the turnover representing the value of cotton purchased in the name of the mills was liable to sales tax in the hands of the assessee.

Analysis: The assessee purchased cotton in the name of the mills, paid for it himself in the first instance, and later credited the amounts when recovered from the mills. The mills had appointed agents for purchasing cotton, and the assessee acted on their behalf. The Tribunal was entitled to infer agency from the surrounding circumstances, including the manner of purchase, the account entries, and the absence of any material showing that the cotton was not supplied to the mills or that the price came from any source other than the mills.

Conclusion: The turnover was not liable to sales tax in the hands of the assessee because the transactions were effected by him as an agent for the mills and not as his own sales.

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