Raw borax under sales tax notifications: chemical-rate concession did not apply, so it was taxable as an unclassified article.

Raw borax sold in the course of trade was treated as outside the special sales tax notifications for chemicals because the applicable notification under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 covered chemicals only in specified circumstances, and the later concession extended only to chemicals imported from outside Uttar Pradesh or manufactured within Uttar Pradesh. The borax here was in raw form and did not satisfy those conditions, so the chemical-rate notification did not apply. It was therefore taxable as an unclassified article rather than as a chemical.

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Issues: Whether borax sold in raw form was taxable as a chemical or as an unclassified article under the relevant sales tax notifications.

Analysis: The relevant notifications under section 3-A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 prescribed a special rate only for chemicals of all kinds other than soda ash in the circumstances stated in the schedules. The later notification continued the concession only for chemicals imported from outside Uttar Pradesh or manufactured in Uttar Pradesh. The borax sold by the assessee was found in raw form and was neither imported nor manufactured in Uttar Pradesh. On that footing, the notification governing chemicals did not apply to the assessee's sales, and there was no other applicable notification for the relevant year to justify taxation at the chemical rate.

Conclusion: Raw borax sold by the assessee was not taxable as a chemical and was rightly taxable as an unclassified article.

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