Ancillary interlocutory relief for ST-1 forms upheld to preserve tax deduction, while substantive tax liability remained undecided.

A court may issue an ancillary interlocutory direction to deliver ST-1 forms where that relief is procedural and necessary to preserve the practical benefit of a claimed sales tax deduction, even though it does not determine substantive liability. The order was upheld because it enabled the relevant turnover to be deducted within the time allowed by the taxing authorities and avoided prejudice in the suit, while leaving open whether the transaction fell under local sales tax law or the Central Sales Tax Act. The underlying fiscal regime was not adjudicated and was reserved for the taxing authority.

---

---

Issues: Whether the order directing delivery of ST-1 forms before disposal of the suit was within jurisdiction and justified as an ancillary relief.

Analysis: The relief was treated as procedural and facilitative, intended to enable deduction of the relevant turnover from the plaintiff's sales tax liability while also reducing the defendant's exposure in the suit. The order did not decide the substantive liability in the suit and was found necessary to avoid complication in claiming the tax deduction within the time allowed by the taxing authorities. The question whether the transaction was governed by the local sales tax law or the Central Sales Tax Act was not decided and was left to the taxing authority.

Conclusion: The direction to deliver the ST-1 forms was upheld as a valid ancillary order, and the appeal was dismissed.

Final Conclusion: The interlocutory direction for delivery of ST-1 forms was sustained, with the substantive tax-law question left open and the appeal rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: A court may grant an ancillary interlocutory direction necessary to secure the practical benefit of a claimed tax deduction, without adjudicating the underlying tax liability or the substantive fiscal regime applicable to the transaction.

---