Declared goods as same commodity after processing: no further State tax where tax was already paid on the strips.

Cold rolled strips purchased and hardened and tempered cold rolled strips sold after processing were treated as the same declared commodity under section 14(iv)(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, because both remained strips and no new material was introduced. Although the processing altered their commercial utility for different industrial uses, it did not create a new commodity. Section 15 of the 1956 Act was applied to restrict further State taxation on declared goods where tax had already been levied at an earlier stage within the State, so additional tax under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 was not leviable where tax had already been paid on the strips.

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Issues: Whether cold rolled strips purchased by the assessee and hardened and tempered cold rolled strips manufactured and sold by it remained the same commodity within section 14(iv)(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, so that no further tax could be levied under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 in view of section 15 of the 1956 Act.

Analysis: The goods purchased and the finished goods sold were both strips falling within the same declared-goods entry. Although the processing rendered the strips fit for different industrial uses and gave them a different commercial utility, no new material was mixed and the product continued to be strips within the meaning of section 14(iv)(vi). Section 15 of the 1956 Act restricts the State's power to levy tax again on declared goods where tax has already been imposed at an earlier stage within the State.

Conclusion: The finished goods were treated as the same declared commodity, and further tax under the 1941 Act was held not leviable where tax had already been paid on the purchased strips within West Bengal.

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