Mandatory proof for second-sale exemption fails without the prescribed certificate under Kerala sales tax rules.

Exemption from tax on a second sale of single-point taxable goods depends on strict compliance with the prescribed proof of prior taxation. The dealer bears the burden of proving non-liability, and rule 32(13) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules requires a certificate from the seller confirming that tax has already been borne at the first sale. The prescribed declaration was treated as the exclusive and practical mode of establishing exemption, supporting certainty, prevention of evasion, and uniform administration. Other materials could not cure the absence of that certificate, so the exemption claim failed for non-compliance with the rule.

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Issues: Whether exemption from tax on second sale of goods taxable at the point of first sale could be claimed without producing the certificate prescribed under rule 32(13) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules, 1963, and whether that requirement was mandatory.

Analysis: Liability to tax on the first sale under section 5 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 depended on the seller being a dealer carrying on business and crossing the statutory turnover threshold, and on the transaction answering the statutory definition of sale. The burden of proving non-liability to tax lay on the dealer under section 12, and rule 32(13) supplied the prescribed mode for discharging that burden by requiring a certificate from the seller that the goods had suffered tax at the seller's hands. The rule was treated as the exclusive and practical method for establishing that the second seller of a single-point commodity was not liable to tax. The requirement was supported by the need for certainty, prevention of evasion, and uniform administration, and the absence of the prescribed declaration could not be cured by other materials.

Conclusion: The certificate under rule 32(13) was mandatory, and the claim for exemption on second sale failed for want of compliance.

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