Forwarding charges treated as part of sale price where no separate contractual basis excluded them from tax liability.

Forwarding charges formed part of the sale price where the statutory definition included amounts charged for anything done in respect of goods at or before delivery, and separate mention in the bill did not by itself prove that freight or delivery cost was outside the sale consideration. Because no evidence showed that the charges were payable separately by consumers or incurred on behalf of purchasers after sale, the assessing and revisional authorities' view was sustained. In the absence of any apparent legal error or jurisdictional defect, interference under article 226 was not warranted.

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Issues: Whether forwarding charges formed part of the sale price and were liable to sales tax under the Act, and whether interference was warranted under article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The definition of "sale price" in section 2(o) of the Act includes amounts charged for anything done in respect of the goods at or before delivery, but excludes freight or delivery cost only when such cost is separately charged and is shown, on the actual contract, to be outside the sale consideration. Mere separate mention in the bill is not decisive. On the facts, no evidence was produced to show that the forwarding charges were payable by the consumers separately or that they were incurred on behalf of the purchasers after sale. The findings of the assessing authority and the revisional authority were that the forwarding charges were part of the sale price. In the absence of any apparent legal error or jurisdictional defect, the extraordinary writ jurisdiction was not available.

Conclusion: Forwarding charges were held to form part of the sale price and the petitioner was not entitled to relief under article 226.

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