Constitutional validity of packing material tax classification upheld, with factual inquiry required on each container sale.

Section 6-C of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, as amended, was upheld as constitutionally valid and not violative of Article 14 because the classification between containers sold as such and containers sold with the contents was held to be reasonable and rationally connected to tax collection and prevention of evasion. The provision was construed as operating where packing material is sold with goods, but it does not automatically displace a separate or independent sale of the container. The assessing authority must examine the contract, surrounding facts, and parties' intention in each case to determine whether there was a taxable sale of the container.

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Issues: (i) Whether section 6-C of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, as amended, was constitutionally valid and whether it applied to packing material sold with goods.

Analysis: The amended provision was construed as applying only where packing material is sold with the goods. A separate sale of the container, or a genuine independent agreement for its sale, is not automatically displaced by the provision. The authority must still determine, on the facts of each case, the ingredients of the contract and the intention of the parties as to whether there was a sale of the container. The classification between containers sold as such and containers sold with the contents was held to be intelligible and to have a rational nexus with the object of facilitating levy and collection and preventing evasion.

Conclusion: Section 6-C, as amended, was held to be constitutionally valid and not violative of Article 14. The assessing authority was held bound to examine the nature of the transaction and the parties' intention in each case.

Ratio Decidendi: A taxing provision classifying packing material on the basis of whether it is sold as such or sold with the contents is valid if the classification is reasonable and connected with the object of taxation, but the existence of a taxable sale of the container remains a factual question to be determined from the contract and surrounding circumstances.

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