Declared goods tax cannot shift to purchase tax where law fixes a single stage of levy.

Declared goods such as paddy, when statutorily taxed at the first sale stage under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, could not be subjected to purchase tax at a later stage merely because the seller was exempt or unregistered. Section 5A applied only where goods were liable to tax and no tax was payable at the prescribed point; it did not permit the Revenue to shift the levy to the purchaser when the Legislature had already fixed a single stage of taxation. Section 15(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 barred multi-stage taxation, so the Tribunal's deletion of purchase tax was upheld.

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Issues: Whether purchase tax under Section 5A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 could be levied on paddy purchased by rice mills from agriculturists or unregistered dealers when paddy was declared goods, the first sale was the statutory point of levy under the Second Schedule, and Section 15(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 prohibited levy at more than one stage.

Analysis: The statutory scheme fixed paddy as declared goods taxable at the point of first sale in the State. Section 5A could operate only where the goods were liable to tax under the Act and no tax was payable at the prescribed point, but it could not be used to shift the levy to the purchaser where the Legislature had already fixed the stage of taxation. The prior Division Bench views treating exemption of the seller as permitting purchase tax were not accepted, because the controlling provisions had to be read strictly and the restriction against multipoint taxation under Section 15(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 remained binding. The reasoning in the Supreme Court decision on declared goods and single-stage levy was held to govern the issue.

Conclusion: Purchase tax could not validly be levied on the assessee under Section 5A in the facts of these revisions, and the levy was unlawful.

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal's deletion of purchase tax was upheld and the State's revisions failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where declared goods are statutorily subjected to tax at a single prescribed stage, exemption at that stage does not authorise the Revenue to shift the levy to another stage through purchase tax, because Section 15(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 forbids taxation of the same declared goods at more than one stage.

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