Provisional sale price and refund obligation require turnover and sales tax to be computed on the final receivable amount.

Where the quoted sale price is only provisional and the seller is legally bound to refund any excess after final price fixation, sales tax and turnover must be computed on the amount actually and legally receivable. The statutory concepts of sale price and turnover cover only consideration retained as payable, not sums that are later refunded under the contract. On that basis, the excess amount initially charged could not form part of taxable turnover, and sales tax paid on that excess was refundable.

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Issues: Whether sales tax was payable and turnover was to be computed on the provisional price initially charged, or on the reduced price actually receivable after the price was finally fixed and the excess amount was refunded.

Analysis: The statutory definition of sale price includes the amount paid or payable as consideration, but excludes discounts or rebates, while turnover consists of the aggregate amount received or receivable. The supply orders expressly made the quoted price provisional and subject to final approval by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The assessee was under a legal obligation to receive only the finally fixed price, and when the price was reduced, the excess amount had to be refunded. Since the assessee actually and legally retained only the reduced price, the excess amount could not remain part of the sale price or turnover. The tax paid on that excess amount was therefore refundable.

Conclusion: The tax liability had to be confined to the final price actually receivable, and the assessee was entitled to refund of sales tax paid on the excess amount.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the sale price is stipulated only provisionally and the seller is legally bound to refund the excess after final price fixation, tax and turnover are to be computed on the amount actually and legally receivable, not on the provisional amount initially charged.

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