Pure works contract for ballast handling found outside sales tax, as no sale of goods was shown.

A contract for collecting stone ballast from a quarry, transporting it, and stacking it at a designated station for a fixed rate was treated as a pure works contract because the record showed labour and work, not a transfer or supply of goods. As the arrangement did not disclose the sale of ballast as such, it lacked the element required to attract sales tax under the sales tax law. The assessment was therefore inconsistent with the contractual nature disclosed by the documents and was held to be without jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether the contract for collection, transportation, and stacking of stone ballast was a works contract not involving any sale of goods, and whether the assessment of sales tax on the contract receipts was without jurisdiction.

Analysis: The contract documents showed that the contractor was engaged to collect stone ballast from the quarry, transport it, and stack it at the specified station for payment at a fixed rate per cubic feet. The arrangement did not disclose any transfer or supply of goods as such, but only execution of labour and work. A contract taxable under the sales tax law must involve an element of sale of goods, and the material on record did not support the characterisation of the arrangement as a contract of supply of ballast. The assessment was therefore inconsistent with the nature of the contract disclosed by the record.

Conclusion: The contract was a pure works contract, not a contract of sale, and the sales tax assessment was without jurisdiction.

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