Statutory control does not negate sale where mutual assent and essential sale elements remain intact.

Supply of cement by a licensed stockist to permit-holders under the West Bengal Cement Control Act, 1948 remained a sale for sales tax purposes because the control regime regulated the field of bargain without extinguishing mutual assent. The parties were still able to agree on delivery, timing, payment and quantity within the permitted limits, and the statutory scheme did not amount to compulsory acquisition. As the essential elements of a sale under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 were preserved, the transactions attracted tax under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

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Issues: Whether supply of cement by a licensed stockist to permit-holders under the West Bengal Cement Control Act, 1948, constituted a sale of goods liable to sales tax under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

Analysis: The controlling statute regulated production, supply, distribution, price, storage, and disposal of cement, but it did not amount to compulsory acquisition of cement. A dealer applied voluntarily for a licence to trade in cement, and a consumer likewise applied voluntarily for a permit to obtain cement. The transactions occurred within the framework of the control order, yet the parties retained room for assent on matters such as delivery, timing, mode of payment, and quantity within the permitted limits. The Court held that the statutory restrictions only regulated the field of bargain and did not eliminate consensus, parties competent to contract, transfer of property in goods, or payment of price in money. The transaction therefore answered the legal requirements of sale under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, and attracted the sales tax statute.

Conclusion: The supplies of cement were sales within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, and were taxable under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

Ratio Decidendi: A transaction remains a sale where statutory control regulates the terms of dealing but does not wholly exclude mutual assent and the other essential elements of sale under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930; only compulsory acquisition takes the transaction outside the concept of sale.

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