Job work versus sale: absence of price entries in delivery challans cannot alone prove taxable transfer of property.

Turnover could not be sustained as taxable merely because delivery challans did not mention price where the assessee claimed the transactions were job work for stitching and redelivery of materials supplied by the principal. The court noted that documents had been produced before the assessing authority and appellate forums, and that once the revenue accepted job work was carried on, those documents had to be examined on their merits. Rejection of the documents solely for absence of material value entries was unsustainable, as that circumstance alone did not establish a sale. The assessment and appellate orders were set aside and the matter remanded for fresh decision after hearing the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the turnover could be sustained as taxable on the footing of transfer of property when the assessee claimed that the transactions were only job work supported by delivery challans and other documents, and whether the assessment required fresh consideration.

Analysis: The assessee asserted that fabric and materials were received from the principal only for stitching and redelivery, and that the delivery challans in such transactions would normally mention quantity rather than price. The record showed that the assessee had produced documents before the assessing authority and again before the appellate forums. Once the revenue itself accepted that job work was carried on, the documents had to be examined to determine whether they supported the assessee's case. The rejection of the documents merely because the value of the materials was not mentioned was held to be unsustainable, since absence of price entries by itself did not establish a sale in a job work transaction.

Conclusion: The assessment and the appellate orders were set aside and the matter was remanded to the Assessing Officer for fresh decision on merits after considering the documents and affording an opportunity of hearing.

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