Original C form required for concessional CST; duplicate form alone is insufficient without mandatory lost-form procedure.

Concessional CST under section 8 depends on production of the original portion of the C form; the duplicate or counterfoil is not a substitute even if the entries are identical. Rule 11(2) of the Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957 was applied to treat the original form as necessary for the concession, and the prescribed lost-form procedure under rule 12 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 must be followed before any duplicate can be relied on. The concession cannot be granted merely on the basis of the duplicate portion when the original is not produced.

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Issues: Whether concessional rate of tax under section 8 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 can be granted on inter-State sales on the strength of the duplicate portion of C form when the original portion is not produced, and whether the prescribed procedure for a lost C form is mandatory.

Analysis: The requirement under rule 11(2) of the Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957 was held to make production of the original portion of C form necessary for availing concessional tax. The duplicate and counterfoil are not treated as substitutes for the original, even though the entries in the three parts may be identical. The provisions under rule 12(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 and rule 12(3) of the same Rules show that where the original form is lost, the assessee must follow the prescribed procedure for obtaining and producing a duplicate form after the requisite safeguards.

Conclusion: Concessional rate of tax cannot be allowed merely on the basis of the duplicate portion of C form when the original is not produced, and compliance with the prescribed procedure for lost forms is mandatory.

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