Total turnover under a concessional sales tax scheme includes second sales of declared goods, limiting the concession available.

For the concessional scheme under section 7 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, the expression "total turnover" was held to include second sales of declared goods. The Court reasoned that the Act used a wide definition covering aggregate turnover in all goods, and that declared goods do not receive a restricted meaning for this purpose; the Central Sales Tax Act only preserves the single-point levy and rate limits. Including such second sales in the turnover computation did not amount to taxing them again, and sections 14 and 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act and article 286(3) of the Constitution did not bar that inclusion. The concessional rate was therefore unavailable.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of the concessional scheme under section 7 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, the expression "total turnover" includes second sales of declared goods.

Analysis: The definition of "total turnover" in the Act was wide enough to cover the aggregate turnover in all goods, and section 7 used that expression without any context requiring a restricted meaning. The Court held that declared goods stand on the same footing as other goods for this purpose, save that section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act limits the rate of tax and preserves the single-point character of levy. Including second sales of declared goods in computing total turnover does not amount to taxing those turnovers again, because the tax under section 7 falls only on the local sales that are otherwise taxable under section 3(1). The Court also relied on earlier authority to hold that sections 14 and 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act and article 286(3) of the Constitution do not prohibit such inclusion, and that rule 6(e) could not control the plain scope of the charging provisions in the Act.

Conclusion: The total turnover for section 7 does include second sales of declared goods, and the assessee was not entitled to the concessional rate.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute adopts a wide definition of total turnover for a concessional tax scheme, second sales of declared goods may be included in that computation so long as the turnover itself is not subjected to tax contrary to the single-point and rate restrictions imposed by the Central Sales Tax Act.

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