Form D sufficiency for Railway sales under the Central Sales Tax Act upheld; Form C was not required.

For inter-State sales to Indian Railways, Form D was treated as sufficient under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 because section 8(4)(b) applies to sales to Government that is not a registered dealer. The seller was not required to verify or control the purchaser's registration status where the Railways' own certificate stated that it was not a registered dealer. The Court rejected a technical assumption that every dealer must be treated as registered for Form C purposes and distinguished the precedent relied on. The revisional order disallowing Form D was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether, for inter-State sales of goods to the Indian Railways, the declaration furnished in Form D was sufficient under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, or whether Form C was required on the footing that the Railways were a registered dealer.

Analysis: Section 8(4)(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 applies where goods are sold to the Government not being a registered dealer, in which event the prescribed certificate in Form D is sufficient. The Court held that the selling dealer had no control over whether the purchaser, being a department of the Government of India, was registered under the Act. The certificate issued by the Railways itself stated that it was not a registered dealer, and that declaration could not be ignored merely on technical assumptions. The Court also distinguished the relied-upon precedent, holding that it did not lay down that every dealer must be treated as a registered dealer for purposes of Form C.

Conclusion: Form D was sufficient for the transactions in question, and the revisional order disallowing it was unsustainable.

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