Mandatory declaration forms for sales tax relief upheld; non-production defeats deduction and constitutional challenge fails.

Production of prescribed declaration forms was held mandatory for claiming deduction or concessional tax treatment on sales to registered dealers under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941. The selling dealer could not rely on other evidence or on difficulty in obtaining the forms from purchasers to satisfy the statutory condition, so the deduction claim was disallowed for non-production. The constitutional challenge to that requirement also failed, as the form requirement applied uniformly to dealers seeking the benefit and was treated as a reasonable fiscal condition. The assessment, as modified in appeal, remained operative.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether production of declaration forms under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941 is mandatory for claiming deduction or concessional rate of tax on sales to registered dealers. (ii) Whether the requirement to produce declaration forms is ultra vires the Constitution of India.

Issue (i): Whether production of declaration forms under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941 is mandatory for claiming deduction or concessional rate of tax on sales to registered dealers.

Analysis: The claim for deduction depended on strict compliance with the statutory scheme governing sales of declared goods and sales to registered dealers. The authority relied on the settled position that where the law prescribes a declaration in the statutory form as a condition for exemption or concessional treatment, the selling dealer must furnish it and cannot substitute other evidence to establish entitlement to the deduction. The inability to obtain the forms from purchasing dealers did not alter the statutory requirement.

Conclusion: The requirement to furnish declaration forms was held to be mandatory, and the applicant's deduction claim was rightly disallowed for non-production of the prescribed forms.

Issue (ii): Whether the requirement to produce declaration forms is ultra vires the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The challenge based on fundamental rights and constitutional guarantees was rejected because the statutory requirement applied uniformly to all dealers seeking exemption or concessional treatment. The absence of a declaration form did not create an unreasonable classification, and the consequence of disallowance flowed from the dealer's failure to satisfy the statutory condition. The provision was treated as a legitimate and reasonable fiscal requirement.

Conclusion: The constitutional challenge failed and the requirement was upheld as valid.

Final Conclusion: The application was rejected, and the assessment as modified in appeal remained operative.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a sales tax statute makes production of a prescribed declaration form a condition for exemption or concessional rate, the condition must be strictly complied with and cannot be displaced by other evidence or by hardship in procuring the form.

---