Resale of packing materials requires sale of the same commodity in substantially the same condition, not used materials in a composite sale.

Goods purchased as packing materials qualify for concessional purchase tax only if they are intended for resale in substantially the same condition. Where gunny or polythene bags were sent outside West Bengal, filled with cement, sealed, and later sold with the cement in West Bengal, the bags had undergone a change in use and character and were no longer the same commercial commodity. The composite sale was of cement, not a resale of the bags, so the requirement of resale under section 5(1)(aa) was not met. On that basis, the claim for concessional treatment failed and the registration certificate could not be amended to include the bags in the resale column.

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Issues: Whether gunny/polythene bags purchased in West Bengal, sent outside the State for packing cement, and later sold with the cement in West Bengal could be treated as goods intended for resale so as to qualify for the concessional purchase tax treatment and corresponding amendment of the registration certificate.

Analysis: Section 5(1)(aa) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 allowed the concessional rate only where the registered dealer purchased goods, including containers or packing materials, as being intended for resale in West Bengal. The expression "resale" was held to mean a subsequent sale of the same commercial commodity in substantially the same condition. Once the bags were taken outside West Bengal, filled with cement, stamped or sealed, and brought back for sale along with cement, the bags no longer remained the same commodity in the same condition. They became used packing materials and formed part of the composite transaction of sale of cement, which itself was sold in West Bengal for the first time. Since there was no resale of cement in West Bengal, the bags could not qualify as packing materials intended for resale, and the registration certificate could not be amended on that basis.

Conclusion: The claim for concessional treatment under section 5(1)(aa) failed, and the refusal to include the bags in the resale column of the registration certificate was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: "Resale" under section 5(1)(aa) requires sale of the same commodity in substantially the same condition; goods that undergo substantial change in use or character before sale do not satisfy that requirement.

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