Retrospective Form F requirement under Central Sales Tax law cannot apply to goods moved before section 6A commenced.

Section 6A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 did not apply to a movement of goods completed before it came into force on 1 April 1973. Where the goods had moved from Orissa to outside the State on 26 February 1973, the relevant date was the date of movement, and a later requirement to furnish Form F could not be imposed retrospectively. The assessee could establish the character of the movement from its accounts, and non-production of Form F by itself did not justify assessment of the turnover at the ordinary rate.

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Issues: Whether section 6A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 applied to a movement of goods that took place before that provision came into force, and whether non-production of form F could justify assessment of the turnover at the ordinary rate.

Analysis: Section 6A came into force with effect from 1 April 1973. The goods in question had moved from Orissa to outside the State on 26 February 1973, before the provision entered the statute book. The material date was the date of movement of the goods, and the subsequent insistence on a declaration in form F could not be applied to a transaction completed before the provision became operative. The assessee was therefore entitled to establish the nature of the movement from its accounts, and the absence of form F by itself did not justify taxation at the ordinary rate.

Conclusion: Section 6A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 was not applicable to the transaction, and the assessee's claim could not be rejected for non-production of form F.

Ratio Decidendi: A provision creating a burden to furnish a declaration for proving transfer-based movement of goods cannot be applied to a transaction completed before the provision came into force.

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