Form G declaration filed before final assessment can still support concessional tax treatment under sales tax rules.

Filing Form G along with the return was treated as directory, not mandatory, under section 5-B of the A.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1957 read with Rule 30-A(1)(b)(i) and clause (ii). Because the rule also allowed the assessing authority to extend time for filing the original declaration up to final assessment, declarations submitted after the return but before the assessment order were validly taken into account. The assessee therefore satisfied the statutory requirement for concessional tax treatment on sales of specified goods for manufacturing use and was entitled to the concessional rate of tax.

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Issues: Whether declaration forms in Form G, filed after submission of the returns but before final assessment, could be taken into account for granting concessional rate of tax under section 5-B of the A.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1957.

Analysis: Section 5-B grants concessional tax treatment on sales of specified goods to another dealer for manufacturing use, subject to furnishing the prescribed declaration. Rule 30-A(1)(b)(i) states that the declaration should be sent along with the return, but clause (ii) expressly permits the assessing authority, on application, to grant further time for filing the original declaration up to the time of final assessment. In that statutory setting, the requirement of filing Form G with the return was held to be directory and not mandatory. Since the declarations were filed before the assessment order was made, the assessee satisfied the statutory requirement for concessional treatment.

Conclusion: The declaration forms could be taken note of if filed before final assessment, even though they were not filed along with the returns, and the assessee was entitled to concessional rate of tax.

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