Later tax notification fixes a single consumer-sale point for apple juice, excluding duplicate levy at manufacture.

Apple juice was treated as a "beverage" within the ordinary wide meaning of that term, and the later notification under section 3-A(2-A) was applied as governing the specified goods at the point of sale to the consumer; the earlier multiple-point notification was regarded as superseded for that item, so taxation at the manufacturing stage was excluded. The account books were found unreliable because the cash book was not produced, but the excess turnover still required limited factual scrutiny to see whether sales to customers were proved. Tax on the apple juice sale was denied, while the rejection of accounts was upheld and the excess turnover issue remanded.

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Issues: (i) Whether apple juice manufactured by the assessee was a beverage liable to tax only at the point of sale to the consumer under the later notification, and not at the manufacturer's stage; (ii) Whether the rejection of the assessee's account books was justified and whether the turnover in excess of the disclosed turnover required further examination.

Issue (i): Whether apple juice manufactured by the assessee was a beverage liable to tax only at the point of sale to the consumer under the later notification, and not at the manufacturer's stage.

Analysis: The expression "beverage" was construed in its wide ordinary sense, covering drinks of any kind other than water, and apple juice was held to fall within that meaning. The later notification issued under section 3-A(2-A) was treated as governing the specified goods and as fixing the tax point at sale to the consumer. The earlier multiple-point notification was held to have been superseded for the covered goods, and the scheme did not permit taxation at more than one point for the same item under the later notification.

Conclusion: The assessee was held not liable to tax on the manufacture and sale of the apple juice to M/s. Mohan Meakin Breweries Ltd.

Issue (ii): Whether the rejection of the assessee's account books was justified and whether the turnover in excess of the disclosed turnover required further examination.

Analysis: The account books were not found reliable because the cash book had not been produced, making verification of sales and purchases impossible. At the same time, the turnover beyond the disclosed figures was left for a limited factual inquiry to determine whether there was material on record showing sales to customers, since only such sales could be brought within the notification.

Conclusion: The rejection of the account books was upheld, and the matter was remanded for limited reconsideration of the excess turnover.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded to the extent that the assessee was relieved from tax on the apple juice sold to M/s. Mohan Meakin Breweries Ltd., but the revising authority was required to re-examine the limited question relating to the excess turnover.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a later taxing notification fixes a single tax point for specified goods, the goods cannot be taxed again at another point merely because they would otherwise have fallen within an earlier multiple-point regime.

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