Specific charging provision prevails for hotel sales of intoxicants, excluding the Sixth Schedule under the sales tax scheme.

Sales of intoxicants in a hotel were held taxable under the specific charging provision for hotels in section 5-C of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, because that provision governs sales of articles of food and drink in restaurants, catering houses and hotels. The Sixth Schedule, being tied to goods taxable under section 5, did not apply to this special hotel scheme. As the assessee was a hotel and the transactions involved intoxicants for human consumption, the specific provision prevailed over the general schedule, and the departmental contention was rejected.

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Issues: Whether sales of intoxicating drinks in a hotel were taxable under section 5-C of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, rather than under the Sixth Schedule read with section 5 of the Act.

Analysis: Section 5-C contained the specific charging provision for sales of articles of food and drink in restaurants, catering houses and hotels. The Sixth Schedule was linked to goods taxable under section 5 and not to the special scheme under section 5-C. Since the assessee was a hotel and the sales in question were of intoxicants for human consumption, the specific provision governing hotels applied.

Conclusion: The sales of intoxicants in the hotel were exigible to tax under section 5-C, and the departmental contention based on the Sixth Schedule was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The tax reference failed and the assessee's treatment of the sales was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute provides a specific charging provision for sales in hotels, that specific provision governs over a general schedule applicable to goods taxed under another section.

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