Retrospective exemption for export sales defeats purchase tax on goods resold in the same form and condition.

Retrospective amendment to section 3-AAAA of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 exempted purchase tax where goods were resold in the same form and condition by intra-State sale, inter-State trade, or export out of India. Footwear purchased against form III-A and sold for export was treated as a deemed export under section 5(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and the amended proviso applied from 1 April 1974. On that basis, the earlier levy could not survive, and purchase tax was not leviable.

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Issues: Whether purchase tax under section 3-AAAA of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 was leviable on footwear purchased against form III-A and sold for export, in view of the retrospective amendment made by U.P. Act No. 31 of 1995.

Analysis: The amended proviso to section 3-AAAA, as substituted with retrospective effect from 1 April 1974, specifically exempts tax where the purchasing dealer resells the goods within the State, in inter-State trade or commerce, or by export out of the territory of India, provided the goods are resold in the same form and condition in which they were purchased. The transaction in question was treated as a deemed export under section 5(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and the goods were sold for export in the same form and condition. Once the amended provision applied retrospectively, the earlier basis for levy could not survive.

Conclusion: The levy of purchase tax under section 3-AAAA was not justified and the revision succeeded.

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