Commission agent not a deemed dealer where he only canvasses orders and cannot receive sale proceeds for tax purposes.

A commission agent of an out-of-State principal was not a deemed dealer under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 where the agent merely canvassed orders, had no authority to conclude sales, and did not carry on the business of selling goods in West Bengal. Sale proceeds of goods dispatched directly by the principal to customers could not be included in the agent's gross turnover because the agent neither received nor was entitled to receive the sale price. The assessment on those transactions was therefore unsustainable, and the tax demanded on them was ordered to be refunded if paid.

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Issues: (i) Whether a commission agent of an out-of-State principal was a "dealer" under the extended definitions in the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941; (ii) Whether the sale price of goods dispatched directly by the principal to customers in West Bengal could be included in the agent's gross turnover for sales tax.

Issue (i): Whether a commission agent of an out-of-State principal was a "dealer" under the extended definitions in the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

Analysis: The statutory definition of dealer covered a mercantile agent only where, in the customary course of business, the agent had authority to sell goods belonging to principals. The agreement between the parties prohibited the agents from making or purporting to make contracts of sale on behalf of the principal. The alternative deeming provision applied only where an agent in West Bengal carried on the business of selling goods in West Bengal for a dealer residing outside West Bengal. On the facts, the principal's business was carried on at Kanpur, while the agents only canvassed orders and forwarded them for acceptance and execution by the principal. That activity did not amount to carrying on the business of selling goods in West Bengal.

Conclusion: The appellants were not dealers within the extended meaning of the Act in relation to the disputed transactions.

Issue (ii): Whether the sale price of goods dispatched directly by the principal to customers in West Bengal could be included in the agent's gross turnover for sales tax.

Analysis: The goods were supplied directly by the principal to the customers, invoices were raised in the customers' names, the documents were negotiated through banks, and the sale price was received by the principal through the banks. The agents neither handled the goods nor received the sale price. Since turnover means the aggregate of sale prices receivable or actually received by the dealer, amounts not receivable or received by the agent could not be brought into the agent's turnover. The assessment therefore lacked a legal basis even apart from the dealer question.

Conclusion: The disputed sale proceeds could not be included in the appellants' gross turnover, and the sales tax assessment on those transactions was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The assessment on the disputed transactions was set aside, the tax demanded thereon was ordered to be refunded if paid, and costs were awarded to the appellants.

Ratio Decidendi: A commission agent who merely canvasses orders for an out-of-State principal, without authority to conclude sales or receive the sale price, is not a deemed dealer, and sale proceeds neither receivable nor received by such agent cannot be included in the agent's turnover for sales tax.

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