Works contract taxability must turn on the actual transaction and contract terms, not general assumptions alone.

A finding of works contract liability cannot stand unless the adjudicating authority first examines the actual nature of the transaction and the relevant contractual clauses governing taxability. The Tribunal erred by proceeding on a general assumption that the cited principles automatically applied, without scrutinising whether the builder was the landowner and whether the allotment agreements required a different legal analysis. Because the foundational factual matrix was not properly analysed, the order was held unsustainable. The matter was set aside and remanded for fresh consideration on merits, with all factual and legal issues left open.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal's order could be sustained when it proceeded on a general assumption that the transaction was a works contract without examining the nature of the transaction and the clauses of the allotment agreement.

Analysis: The Tribunal had disposed of the dispute on the footing that the principles in the cited Supreme Court decisions automatically applied, but it did not examine the material distinction that the builder was itself the owner of the land and that the factual content of the agreements with allottees required scrutiny. The nature of the transaction was the foundational question for deciding whether a works contract existed and whether tax liability arose on goods used in construction. As the Tribunal had not analysed the relevant factual matrix or the contractual clauses, its findings were held to be unsustainable. The Court expressly declined to decide the merits and left all factual and legal issues open for reconsideration.

Conclusion: The Tribunal's order was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh decision after proper consideration of the facts and hearing the parties.

Final Conclusion: The dispute was restored to the Tribunal for reconsideration on merits, with no final adjudication on tax liability.

Ratio Decidendi: A finding on works contract liability cannot be sustained unless the adjudicating authority first examines the actual nature of the transaction and the relevant contractual terms on which taxability depends.

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