Declaration form requirement under trade tax rules: counterfoil cannot replace the original or a duly obtained duplicate for exemption.

Rule 25B of the U.P. Trade Tax Rules, 1948 requires a dealer claiming exemption under section 4B to furnish the prescribed declaration form, with the original form contemplated by the scheme. The rules also create a specific mechanism for obtaining a duplicate declaration where the original is lost, and that remedy is the statutory safeguard against loss. A counterfoil of form IIIB cannot be treated as an adequate substitute for the original or for a duly obtained duplicate form, so exemption cannot be extended on that basis.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessing authority could be directed to accept the counterfoil of form IIIB and extend exemption on that basis where the original form was not produced and no duplicate declaration form was obtained under the rules.

Analysis: Rule 25B of the U.P. Trade Tax Rules, 1948 requires a dealer seeking the concession under section 4B to furnish the prescribed declaration form. The rule also provides a specific mechanism under sub-rule (15) for issue of a duplicate form when the original is lost in transit or by the selling dealer. Sub-rule (5) further contemplates production of the portion marked original. The scheme therefore makes production of the prescribed form a statutory requirement, and the benefit cannot be extended on a liberal basis by treating the counterfoil as sufficient. The provision for duplicate forms is the only statutory safeguard against loss of the original, and that remedy was not availed of.

Conclusion: The counterfoil of form IIIB could not be accepted in place of the original or a duly obtained duplicate form, and the direction granting the benefit on that basis was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute and rules prescribe production of the original declaration form and provide a distinct procedure for obtaining a duplicate on loss, the concession cannot be claimed on the basis of a counterfoil.

---