Trade tax exemption for defence canteen scooter sales applies under the notification scheme, not past administrative practice.

Sales of motor scooters and accessories to defence personnel through the welfare corporation or air force canteen were treated as exempt from trade tax under the applicable notification scheme. The 31.03.1994 notification, read with the earlier 31.01.1985 notification and its schedule, showed that motor cycles, motor scooters and mopeds were not excluded from the exempted category for sales through the designated channel. The exemption therefore arose from the notification terms themselves, and not from administrative practice. Prior appellate reliance on past practice did not change the legal position, and the trade tax exemption was upheld.

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Issues: Whether sale of motor scooters and accessories through the welfare corporation or air force canteen to defence personnel was entitled to exemption from trade tax under the applicable government notifications.

Analysis: The relevant notification of 31.03.1994 was read with the earlier notification of 31.01.1985 and the schedule thereto. The schedule specifically excluded motor cycles, motor scooters and mopeds from the list of goods denied exemption, so sales of those goods through the corporation to members of the armed forces fell within the exempted category. The fact that the lower appellate authority relied on past practice did not alter the legal position, because the exemption flowed from the notification scheme itself.

Conclusion: The sale of motor scooters and accessories to defence employees through the permitted channel was exempt from trade tax, and the revision was rightly dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a notification governing trade tax exemption expressly permits sales of specified goods to defence personnel through the designated corporation or canteen channel and does not exclude those goods from the exempted list, the exemption applies according to the notification terms and not merely by administrative practice.

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