Resale of packing containers depends on facts and commercial identity, not merely their use as consumable stores.

Empty tins used for packing oil are not automatically excluded from resale treatment merely because they served as consumable stores. The relevant test under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act is whether the goods, on the facts, are resold in the same form or undergo a process amounting to manufacture, meaning a change that creates a commercially different and distinct commodity. Whether containers are separately sold, transferred with goods, or form part of a single transaction depends on the contract, the identity and value of the container, and its capacity for independent sale or reuse. A blanket conclusion that empty tins cannot be resold was rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether empty tins used for packing oil and described as consumable stores could, on the facts, be treated as not resold so as to attract purchase tax under section 15 of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969.

Analysis: The expression "resale" in section 2(26) was examined with reference to sale in the same form and sale without any process amounting to manufacture. The definition of "manufacture" in section 2(16) was held to be wide, but not so wide as to treat every minor use of goods as manufacturing. The relevant test is whether the operation brings about a change in the nature or character of the goods or produces a commercially different and distinct commodity. The Court further held that whether packing material or containers are sold separately, transferred with the goods, or form part of a single sale transaction is a question of fact depending on the nature of the transaction, the contract between the parties, the value and identity of the container, and whether the container is capable of independent sale or reuse. The Tribunal erred in treating empty tins as incapable of resale merely because they were used as consumable stores.

Conclusion: The mere fact that empty tins were used as consumable stores in the manufacture or packing of oil does not by itself prevent resale or justify purchase tax; the issue had to be examined on the facts of each case. The Tribunal's view was not upheld.

---