Declared goods taxation: State levy remains valid where section 15 limits on rate, single-stage tax, and refund are satisfied.

Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 regulates State taxation of declared goods but does not bar it. A State levy is valid where the rate does not exceed three per cent, tax is imposed at only one stage, and refund is available if the goods are sold in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. Applying that framework, section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, read with Item 6 of the Third Schedule, was treated as conforming to section 15 because it fixed the rate at three paise in the rupee, applied at a single specified point, and provided for refund on inter-State movement.

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Issues: Whether tax on declared goods, specifically groundnuts, could be validly levied under section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 notwithstanding section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Analysis: Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 does not prohibit a State from levying tax on declared goods. It only imposes restrictions that the tax shall not exceed three per cent of the sale or purchase price, shall not be levied at more than one stage, and shall be refunded where the goods are sold in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. Section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, together with Item 6 of its Third Schedule, fixes the rate at three paise in the rupee and levies tax at a single specified point of sale or purchase, while also providing for refund where the goods move in inter-State trade. The State provision therefore conforms to the requirements of section 15.

Conclusion: Tax on declared goods could validly be levied under section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, and the Tribunal was wrong in holding that such tax could be collected only under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Final Conclusion: The statutory scheme permitted levy of sales tax by the State on declared goods so long as the conditions in section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 were satisfied, and those conditions were held to be satisfied here.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 regulates but does not exclude State levy on declared goods; a State tax on such goods is valid if it stays within the prescribed rate, single-point levy, and refund conditions.

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