Packed commodity containers are not separate sales of empty tins, so concessional sales tax treatment was unavailable.

Tins used as containers for vegetable ghee or oil were held not to be separate sales of empty tins, because they formed an integral part of the packed commodity sold to customers. The concessional notification for "empty tins and empty barrels" applied only where the tins were sold as empty containers, not where they were merely used for packing the goods. On that basis, the turnover relating to such tins did not qualify for the concessional sales tax rate, and the assessee was denied the benefit.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to the concessional sales tax rate on the turnover relating to tins used as containers for vegetable ghee or oil, on the footing that such tins constituted a separate sale of empty tins.

Analysis: The concessional notification applied to "empty tins and empty barrels". The tins in question were used as necessary containers for packing and selling vegetable ghee or oil, and were not sold as empty tins at the time of the transaction. Since the containers formed an integral part of the sale of the packed commodity, the sale of the tins could not be treated as an independent transaction separate from the sale of the goods contained in them.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to the concessional rate on the tins, and the transaction did not qualify as a sale of empty tins.

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