Sales tax notification "cost" construed as sale price, not dealer purchase price, where tax is levied on taxable turnover.

The expression "cost" in a sales tax notification was construed in light of a levy on taxable turnover, so it referred to the sale price of the radio and not the dealer's purchase price. Because the statute linked tax to the sale transaction and did not define cost price, the notification was read as operating on the price at which the goods were sold. The attempt to substitute purchase cost as the basis for the applicable rate was rejected, and the question was answered in favour of the department.

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Issues: Whether the expression "cost" in the relevant sales tax notification referred to the purchase cost to the dealer or the sale price of the radio for the purpose of determining the applicable rate of tax.

Analysis: The rate of tax under the Act was linked to the dealer's taxable turnover and the scheme of the statute contemplated levy on the sale transaction. The Act defined purchase price and sale price, but did not define cost price. In that statutory setting, the notification had to be read as referring to the price at which the goods were sold, because the incidence of tax was on sale and not on the dealer's procurement price. The court therefore treated the selling price as the relevant figure for applying the notification, and rejected the attempt to substitute the dealer's purchase price as the decisive factor.

Conclusion: The expression "cost" meant the sale price of the radio and not its purchase price. The reference was answered against the dealer and in favour of the department.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a sales tax notification is issued in the context of a levy on taxable turnover, the expression "cost" in the notification is to be construed with reference to the sale price relevant to the taxable transaction, unless the notification expressly indicates otherwise.

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