Distinct commercial commodities under sales tax law: rough cast iron castings are separate from pig iron and scrap, while set-off remains open.

Rough cast iron castings manufactured from pig iron and iron scrap are treated as a distinct commercial commodity, not the same commodity as the raw materials merely because both fall within the broad "iron and steel" entry. On that basis, the finished castings do not qualify for sales tax exemption as declared goods under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The commentary also notes that a claim for set-off under section 22(2) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 remains separately examinable and must be determined afresh on the proper basis.

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Issues: (i) whether rough cast iron castings manufactured from pig iron and iron scrap were the same commodity as the raw materials so as to fall within the declared goods category under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and claim exemption from sales tax; and (ii) whether the assessee was entitled to set-off under section 22(2) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Issue (i): whether rough cast iron castings manufactured from pig iron and iron scrap were the same commodity as the raw materials so as to fall within the declared goods category under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and claim exemption from sales tax.

Analysis: Rough or unmachined cast iron castings in their basic form were treated as cast iron, but the materials used by the assessee, namely pig iron and iron scrap, were different commodities from the finished rough cast iron castings. The scheme of sections 14 and 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 does not make every item grouped under the broad heading "iron and steel" a single commodity. Each distinct commercial commodity may be separately taxable, and the manufactured product here was not the same as the raw materials.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to exemption from sales tax on the sale of rough cast iron castings, and the finished product was liable to tax as a distinct commodity.

Issue (ii): whether the assessee was entitled to set-off under section 22(2) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Analysis: Once the manufactured product was held to be different from the raw materials, the assessee did not lose the statutory right to seek set-off under section 22(2). The earlier authorities had not finally determined the set-off claim on the correct basis, and the matter required fresh examination by the assessing officer after hearing the assessee.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to claim set-off, and the matter was remitted for fresh determination of the set-off amount.

Final Conclusion: The assessment orders were interfered with only to the extent necessary to restore and reconsider the set-off claim, while the liability of the manufactured product to sales tax was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Distinct commercial commodities falling within the same broad statutory entry are not automatically the same commodity for sales tax purposes; tax treatment depends on whether the raw material and the finished product are commercially different goods.

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