Amended turnover tax provisions can include otherwise exempt sales where the statute expressly brings them into taxable turnover.

Amended turnover tax provisions were construed to include sales otherwise exempt under section 49(2) of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969. Section 10A, as amended from 1 April 1993, expressly brought exempt goods into the computation of taxable turnover, and the explanatory definition of "taxable goods" covered goods that would have been taxable but for section 49(2). The statutory amendment and its stated object showed a legislative intent to tax such sales for turnover tax purposes, so the separate exemption did not exclude them once clause (f) of section 10A(2) was deleted. The levy on sales to oil marketing companies was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether turnover tax was leviable on the petitioner's sales to oil marketing companies notwithstanding the exemption under section 49(2) of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969.

Analysis: Section 10A, as amended with effect from 01.04.1993, expressly brought within the computation of taxable turnover the goods wholly or partially exempt from payment of tax under section 49(2). The explanatory definition of "taxable goods" also covered goods that would otherwise have been taxable but for exemption under section 49(2). The statutory amendment and its objects and reasons showed a clear legislative intent to include such exempt sales for turnover tax purposes. The exemption under section 49(2) therefore did not prevent inclusion of those sales in the turnover tax computation once clause (f) of section 10A(2) was deleted.

Conclusion: The petitioner was liable to pay turnover tax on the sales made to the oil marketing companies, and the exemption under section 49(2) did not exclude those sales from section 10A.

Final Conclusion: The revisional and tribunal orders upholding the levy of turnover tax were sustained, and the writ petition failed.

Ratio Decidendi: When the taxing statute is amended to expressly include otherwise exempt sales in the definition of taxable turnover for turnover tax, the exemption under a separate exemption provision does not override that amended levy.

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