Transit pass presumption under sales tax law prevails when interstate movement is unproved, and a C form alone is insufficient.

Section 30B of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act creates a presumption that goods were delivered within the State for sale when the transit pass is not surrendered at the last check-post and the exit of the goods is not proved. The presumption also applies where the consignor, owner, or transporter fails to establish the bona fides of the movement. On the stated facts, no material showed actual exit from the State, so the statutory fiction operated against the assessee. A C form declaration under the Central Sales Tax Act, by itself, does not rebut that presumption.

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Issues: Whether, on failure to surrender the transit pass and absence of proof of exit of goods from the State, the statutory presumption under section 30B of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 fastens tax liability on the owner of the goods, and whether production of a C form declaration under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 by itself displaces that presumption.

Analysis: Section 30B creates a statutory scheme for movement of goods through the State. If the transit pass obtained at entry is not delivered at the last check-post, a presumption arises that the goods liable to tax were delivered within the State for sale. The provision further extends liability where the consignor or owner of the goods or the transporter fails to establish the bona fides of the transport. On the facts, neither the owner nor the transporter produced material showing that the goods actually exited the State, and the statutory fiction therefore operated against the assessee. A mere C form declaration does not, by itself, establish the truth of the interstate movement or override the presumption when the exit of the goods is not proved.

Conclusion: The assessee remained liable to assessment and the presumption under section 30B was not displaced. The revision was liable to fail.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the transit pass required under the sales tax law is not surrendered and the bona fides of transport or actual exit of goods from the State is not proved, the statutory presumption of intra-State sale prevails, and a C form declaration alone does not rebut it.

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