Way-bill entitlement in works contracts extends to goods imported for installation, subject to statutory accounting obligations.

A consignee under an indivisible works contract for supply, erection, installation and commissioning of lifts was entitled to obtain way-bills for goods brought from outside West Bengal for execution of the contract. The tribunal construed the phrase "on his own account" in the relevant rules broadly to include a registered dealer importing goods for use in works execution, not only purchases for resale. It also held that the goods moved pursuant to and incidental to the works contract, with property passing only after erection and commissioning, while the consignee remained responsible for bringing the goods into the State and accounting for them under law.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner, as consignee in an indivisible works contract for supply, erection, installation and commissioning of lifts/elevators, was entitled to obtain way-bills for bringing goods into West Bengal and whether the phrase "on his own account" in the relevant rules excluded such entitlement.

Analysis: The contract was held to be a works contract, and the goods moved from outside West Bengal pursuant to and incidental to that contract. The Court accepted that the property in the goods passed only after erection, installation and commissioning, but held that the consignee remained the dealer responsible for bringing the goods into the State and accounting for them. The phrase "on his own account" in the relevant rules was construed in a wider sense so as to include a registered dealer who imports or brings goods for use in execution of works, and not merely cases of purchase for resale. The Court also noted that if the goods are not duly accounted for, the authority may proceed in accordance with law.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to way-bills as consignee for the goods brought from outside West Bengal for execution of the works contract, subject to its obligation to account for those goods under the law.

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