Export sale under Tamil Nadu sales tax law cannot sustain Section 3(4) levy on goods used in manufacture.

Tax under Section 3(4) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 could not be levied on the purchase value of goods bought against Form XVII declarations and used in manufacturing goods later sold by way of export. The court applied the earlier precedent that an export sale falls within the statutory definition of sale under Section 2(n) read with Explanation 3(a), so the levy could not be sustained on the same transaction. The revision was treated as covered by that identical legal position, and the substantial questions of law were answered against the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether tax under Section 3(4) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 could be levied on goods manufactured with Form XVII declarations and sold by way of export, and whether such levy could be sustained by invoking the definition of sale under Section 2(n) read with Explanation 3(a) of the Act.

Analysis: The revision arose from an assessment under Section 3(4) on the purchase value of goods bought against Form XVII declarations and used in manufacture of goods ultimately sold outside the State. The appellate tribunal had set aside the levy by following the earlier decision holding that an export sale falls within the definition of sale and that tax under Section 3(4) cannot be levied on such transactions. The same legal position was applied here, and the court found the revision to be covered by the earlier precedent on identical facts and law.

Conclusion: Section 3(4) could not be invoked to levy tax on the export sale of the manufactured goods, and the substantial questions of law were answered against the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: A levy under Section 3(4) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 cannot be sustained where the manufactured goods are sold by way of export and the transaction is already covered by the statutory definition of sale.

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