Form 25 declarations are not conclusive proof of last-purchase status; validity depends on registration and transaction genuineness.

Form 25 declarations under Rule 32(14) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules were not conclusive proof that the purchaser was the last purchaser for tax exemption purposes, because the rule also required disclosure of transaction particulars and permitted the assessing authority to test whether the sales were genuine. The dealer remained responsible for proving non-liability under section 12. A declaration could be relied on only if the purchaser held a valid registration certificate at the relevant time; registration under section 14(5) lasted one year and continued only on renewal, while section 14(7) allowed cancellation or amendment. A later cancellation did not invalidate a declaration issued when the purchaser was duly registered.

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Issues: Whether a form 25 declaration furnished by the seller conclusively established that the purchaser was the last purchaser for the purpose of taxability, and whether a dealer's registration certificate remained effective without renewal or after subsequent cancellation for the purpose of issuing such declaration.

Analysis: Rule 32(14) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules, 1963 required a dealer claiming exemption from last-purchase tax to obtain a form 25 declaration, but the rule also required disclosure of particulars of the purchasers and sales. This showed that the declaration was not intended to be conclusive proof of the genuineness of the transaction. The assessing authority was therefore entitled to enquire into whether the transactions were real, with the burden of proving non-liability resting on the dealer under section 12 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. As to the purchaser's status, a declaration could be relied on only if the purchaser held a valid registration certificate at the relevant time. Under section 14(5) of the Act, registration was valid for one year and continued only upon renewal, while section 14(7) enabled cancellation, modification, or amendment of the certificate. A certificate not renewed in time did not remain effective indefinitely. However, cancellation made later did not invalidate a declaration issued when the purchaser was duly registered.

Conclusion: Form 25 declarations were not conclusive proof by themselves, but a declaration issued by a purchaser holding a valid registration certificate at the relevant time could not be ignored merely because of a later cancellation. The matter required fresh consideration on the question of validity of registration and the genuineness of the transactions.

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