Packing materials concession limited to taxable goods; registration certificate alone does not extend relief to tax-free goods.

The concessional tax rate for packing materials was confined to materials used for packing goods covered by the registration certificate and intended for use in the manufacture of taxable goods for sale. The phrase "so specified" was read as linking the packing-material condition to that taxable-goods requirement, so mere inclusion of the goods in the certificate was insufficient. On that construction, packing materials used for tax-free hosiery goods did not satisfy the statutory condition, and rule 27A(1a) did not widen the concession. The refusal of declaration forms and concessional treatment was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether packing materials purchased for packing tax-free goods manufactured by the registered dealer were entitled to concessional rate of tax under section 5(1)(bb)(i) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 read with rule 27A(1a) of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941.

Analysis: The concessional rate under section 5(1)(bb)(i) was held to be available only where the packing materials were required for packing goods of the class or classes specified in the registration certificate and those goods were intended for use directly in the manufacture of taxable goods for sale. The expression "so specified" was read as linking the packing-material limb to the first limb of the provision, so that mere inclusion of the goods in the registration certificate was not enough. Since the hosiery goods manufactured by the applicants were tax-free goods, the packing materials used for them did not satisfy the statutory condition. Rule 27A(1a) was read consistently with that construction and did not enlarge the scope of the substantive provision.

Conclusion: The applicants were not entitled to declaration forms or concessional tax treatment for purchase of packing materials for packing tax-free goods, and the rejection by the authority was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The statutory concession was confined to packing materials connected with taxable goods, so the challenge to the refusal of declaration forms failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A concession for packing materials under section 5(1)(bb)(i) applies only when the packed goods are taxable goods intended for manufacture and sale, and the registration certificate alone does not extend the benefit to packing of tax-free goods.

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