Invoice amounts not actually collected from the purchaser were excluded from taxable turnover, and collected sales tax had to be refunded.

Amounts shown in invoices but not actually collected from the purchaser, and only reimbursable under an incentive scheme, do not form part of sale consideration or taxable turnover. The decisive test was whether the excise duty component was in fact collected as price; as it was not, the amount was excluded from turnover. Sales tax actually collected from the customer-purchaser was directed to be refunded, since the turnover dispute had been resolved in the assessee's favour on the excise duty component.

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Issues: (i) Whether the excise duty amounts shown in the invoices, but not collected from the customer and reimbursable under a special scheme as an incentive, formed part of the sale consideration and taxable turnover. (ii) Whether the sales tax shown in the bills and collected from the customer-purchaser was refundable to the customer-purchaser.

Issue (i): Whether the excise duty amounts shown in the invoices, but not collected from the customer and reimbursable under a special scheme as an incentive, formed part of the sale consideration and taxable turnover.

Analysis: The determining factor was whether the amount had in fact been collected from the purchaser as part of the price. Since the assessee did not collect the excise duty from the customer-purchaser and it was only shown in the invoices under the incentive arrangement, the amount could not be treated as consideration for the sale.

Conclusion: The excise duty amount did not form part of the sale consideration and was not includible in taxable turnover, in favour of the assessee.

Issue (ii): Whether the sales tax shown in the bills and collected from the customer-purchaser was refundable to the customer-purchaser.

Analysis: Amounts of sales tax actually collected from the customer-purchaser could not be retained by the assessee once the turnover dispute was decided in its favour on the excise duty component.

Conclusion: The sales tax collected in the bills was directed to be refunded to the customer-purchaser.

Final Conclusion: The revisions were allowed, the Tribunal's order was set aside, and the disputed excise duty component was excluded from turnover, with a direction for refund of the collected sales tax to the customer-purchaser.

Ratio Decidendi: Amounts not collected from the purchaser and merely reimbursable under an incentive arrangement do not form part of sale consideration or taxable turnover.

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