Second-sale exemption denied where assessee failed to prove earlier taxable sale and burden was wrongly shifted to Revenue.

Second-sale exemption under section 3(2) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act was unavailable where disputed turnovers were unearthed from inspection records, omitted from the assessee's books, and unsupported by any proof of earlier taxable sales in Tamil Nadu. For a claim that goods had already suffered single-point tax, the burden lay on the assessee to establish the prior taxable sale in its favour. The Tribunal erred in shifting that burden to the Revenue merely because direct evidence of inter-State or voucher purchases was absent. The assessment made by the assessing authority was therefore restored.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to claim exemption on the disputed turnovers as second sales under section 3(2) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, and whether the Revenue or the assessee bore the burden of proving the nature of the earlier sales.

Analysis: The disputed turnovers were found from incriminating records during inspection and were not reflected in the assessee's books. The assessee did not furnish particulars of the alleged earlier purchases, did not respond to the pre-assessment notices, and produced no material to show that the goods had already suffered taxable sales in Tamil Nadu. On a claim for exemption as a second sale of single point goods, the burden lay on the assessee to establish the earlier taxable sale in his favour. The Tribunal erred in placing the burden on the Revenue merely because there was no direct proof of inter-State purchases or voucher purchases.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to second-sale exemption on the disputed turnovers, and the assessment made by the assessing authority was restored.

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