Advance issue of delivery notes in book form upheld; selective refusal to a dealer was not legally justified.

Where the statutory scheme governing transport of goods contemplates delivery notes being issued in advance in book form, with regulated custody, registers, surrender of unused forms and invalidation of obsolete forms, an assessing authority cannot require a dealer to obtain a fresh note on each occasion. A mere apprehension of tax evasion is insufficient to justify selective denial of such forms when the Act and Rules already provide safeguards, and discriminatory refusal is inconsistent with Article 14. The dealer was therefore entitled to advance supply of delivery notes in book form, and the refusal to issue them was not legally justified.

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Issues: Whether a dealer transporting goods within the State was entitled to receive delivery notes in book form in advance from the assessing authority, instead of obtaining a fresh delivery note on each occasion, and whether refusal to supply such blank delivery notes was legally sustainable.

Analysis: Section 29 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 requires possession of a delivery note and declaration for transport across notified areas, while section 57 authorises rules on the form, issue, custody and use of such documents. The relevant rules show that delivery notes are contemplated as forms issued to dealers for repeated use, with safeguards regarding safe custody, maintenance of registers, surrender of unused forms, and invalidation of obsolete forms. Rule 33A, read with rules 32(17) and 35, indicates that delivery notes are meant to be issued in advance in book form and not obtained afresh on every movement of goods. The apprehension that such supply may lead to tax evasion cannot justify denial to one dealer alone when the statute and rules already provide adequate penal and regulatory safeguards. Such selective denial is also inconsistent with equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Conclusion: The dealer was entitled to receive delivery notes in book form in advance, and the refusal to issue them was not legally justified.

Final Conclusion: The original petition succeeded, and the assessing authority was directed to issue delivery notes on payment of the prescribed fee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory scheme contemplates advance issue and regulated custody of delivery note forms, an assessing authority cannot, on a mere apprehension of evasion, deny such forms to a dealer in a manner not authorised by the Act or Rules, especially when the denial is discriminatory.

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