Dominant intention test treats manufacture and supply of iron shutters as a sale of goods, not a works contract.

The dominant intention of the contract was the transfer of property in manufactured iron shutters, so the transaction was a sale of goods and not a works contract. The contract required the assessee to manufacture shutters to specification, deliver them against payment at the factory premises, and treat on-site fixing as incidental. Transport and masonry were for the purchaser, and the assessee's responsibility ended on factory delivery when property passed. Because the labour and fixing element was merely subsidiary to the supply of goods, the turnover was liable to sales tax.

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Issues: Whether the supply and fixing of iron shutters under the contract amounted to a sale of goods or a works contract.

Analysis: The decisive test was the main object of the parties as gathered from the terms of the contract and surrounding circumstances. The contract required the assessee to manufacture shutters according to specifications, deliver them against payment of the full price at the factory premises, and treat fixation at the purchaser's premises as an incidental part of the arrangement. The purchaser was to bear transport and masonry work, the assessee's responsibility ceased on delivery from the factory, and property in the shutters passed on such delivery. On these terms, the fixing charges were only subsidiary to the supply of shutters and did not convert the transaction into a works contract.

Conclusion: The transaction was a sale of goods and the turnover was liable to sales tax.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the dominant intention of the contract is the transfer of property in manufactured goods and any fixing or labour component is merely incidental, the transaction is a sale of goods and not a works contract.

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