Packed goods turnover rule: carton value was treated as part of sale price, not deductible delivery charges.

Where bottled liquor is sold as a packed article with cardboard cartons, the separately shown value of the cartons forms part of the sale price and may be included in taxable turnover. The packing was not treated as a delivery charge within the governing sales tax rule, because the cartons were part of the goods sold at or before delivery. The rate applicable to the packed goods was therefore correctly applied, and exclusion of the carton value from turnover was not available.

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Issues: Whether the separately charged value of cardboard cartons used for packing bottled liquor was deductible as delivery charges and exempt from inclusion in taxable turnover.

Analysis: The liquor was sold as a packed article consisting of bottles and cardboard cartons. The cartons were not charges for delivery within Rule 9(f)(ii) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules. Under Explanation (2)(i) to Section 2(xxvii) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, the amount for which goods are sold includes sums charged for anything done by the dealer in respect of the goods at or before delivery. Since what was sold was bottled liquor packed in cartons, the cartons formed part of the goods sold. The separately shown value of the cartons could therefore be included in turnover, and the rate applicable to the goods contained in the packed article was correctly applied.

Conclusion: The claim for exclusion of the value of cardboard cartons failed and the inclusion of that value in taxable turnover was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods are sold as a packed article, the value of the packing material forms part of the sale turnover and is not deductible as delivery charges unless it is shown to be a separate charge for delivery within the governing rules.

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