Total turnover governs additional tax under sales tax law; turnover cannot be split into slabs for different rates.

Section 5-A of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 was construed as fixing the rate of additional tax by reference to the dealer's total turnover and the category into which the dealer falls, not as authorising slabwise taxation of different portions of the same turnover. The provision creates turnover-based classes, including dealers above one crore, and once a dealer enters the higher category the applicable rate is determined on that total turnover as a whole. The turnover cannot be split into successive parts for applying different rates to separate segments. On that construction, the challenge to the levy failed.

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Issues: Whether, for levy of additional tax under section 5-A of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, the dealer's total turnover had to be split into slabs and taxed at different rates on each slab, or whether the applicable rate had to be determined by reference to the dealer's total turnover as a whole.

Analysis: Section 5-A classifies dealers into three categories based on total turnover: those with turnover between Rs. 3 lakhs and Rs. 50 lakhs, those with turnover above Rs. 50 lakhs but below one crore, and those with turnover of one crore or more. The provision was construed as granting a concessional rate to smaller dealers according to the category in which the dealer falls, rather than as creating a slabwise levy on different segments of the same dealer's turnover. Once a dealer's turnover crosses one crore, the dealer falls in the third category and the turnover cannot be divided into three parts for applying different rates to different portions.

Conclusion: The applicable rate of additional tax was to be determined on the basis of the dealer's total turnover, and not by splitting the turnover into separate slabs. The challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For levy of additional tax under section 5-A, the dealer's total turnover governs the applicable rate, and the turnover cannot be split into successive slabs for applying multiple rates to different portions of the same turnover.

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