Incidental religious auctions do not constitute business unless an independent commercial intention is proved.

Auction of devotees' gold bullion and offerings by the Devasthanam was held not to constitute business under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, because the sale power was merely incidental to the temple's religious and charitable object. Liability as a dealer arose only where the activity bore a commercial character or showed an independent intention to carry on business. As the auction was not a commercial venture, the assessee was not a dealer for that transaction and the sales tax levy could not stand.

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Issues: Whether the auction sale of gold bullion and other offerings made by devotees to the Devasthanam constituted business so as to render the assessee a dealer liable to sales tax under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: The object of the scheme governing the Devasthanam was the maintenance of the temple and its allied religious and charitable endowments, and the power to sell offerings in public auction was only incidental to that religious object. On the statutory definitions of "dealer" and "business", liability could arise only if the activity was connected with trade or commerce in a commercial sense. The auction of devotees' offerings was not a commercial venture, and the Revenue's reliance on cases involving pawn brokers, banks, or trading companies was inapposite because those activities were carried on in the course of business. The controlling principle was that where the main activity is not business, incidental sales do not become business unless an independent intention to carry on business is established.

Conclusion: The auction sale was not business, the assessee was not a dealer in respect of that transaction, and the levy of sales tax was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: A transaction that is merely incidental to a purely religious or charitable object does not amount to business or create dealer liability unless the Department proves an independent commercial intention to carry on that activity.

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