Voluntary sales tax registration: liability starts only when the registration certificate is received, not while the application is pending.

In voluntary registration under section 9-A of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, liability to pay sales tax begins only when the registration certificate is received. Where the dealer applied before statutory liability arose and the delay in issuing the certificate was attributable to the revenue authorities, liability cannot be imposed for the intervening period after turnover crossed the threshold or while the application was pending, because tax could not lawfully be collected before registration became effective.

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Issues: Whether, in the case of voluntary registration under section 9-A of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, liability to pay sales tax commences from the date on which the registration certificate is received or from an earlier date when the dealer's turnover exceeds the statutory limit or the registration application is pending.

Analysis: Section 9-A permits voluntary registration before statutory liability under section 4 arises, and a dealer registered under that provision cannot collect tax until the certificate is received. The Court relied on the scheme of the Act and earlier decisions distinguishing ordinary compulsory registration from voluntary registration, and held that where the dealer had applied for registration before becoming liable and the delay in grant of the certificate was attributable to the revenue authorities, the dealer cannot be saddled with tax liability for the intervening period during which tax could not lawfully be collected.

Conclusion: Liability to pay sales tax under section 9-A commenced only from the date of receipt of the registration certificate and not from the earlier date when turnover crossed the limit or the application remained pending; the decision is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: In voluntary registration cases, tax liability cannot be fastened for the period before receipt of the registration certificate, because the dealer has no legal right to collect tax until registration becomes effective.

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