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1986 (8) TMI 417

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....d by   R.S. PATHAK, J.-These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment and order of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dismissing the writ petitions filed by the appellant against proceedings for the assessment of sales tax. The appellant, the Government Medical Store Depot, Karnal, is a depot functioning under the Assistant Director General (Stores) who is in-charge of the Medical Stores Organisation in the country under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, Government of India, New Delhi. It is a department of the Central Government and supplies medicines and hospital equipment manufactured in India or imported from abroad to Government hospitals, Government institutions, health centres,....

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....as also directed to get itself registered as a dealer under the Act. The appellant replied on August 24, 1968, that it did not fall within the scope of the definition of "dealer", and it seems that the Government of India in the Ministry of Health also intervened in the matter. The Excise and Taxation Officer, however, continued to maintain that the appellant was a "dealer" within the meaning of the Act. The Excise and Taxation Officer then issued formal notices to the appellant for the production of its account books for the years 1964-65 to 1968-69, and after giving an opportunity to the appellant to be heard, he proceeded to make assessment orders dated March 25, 1970, for the years 1964-65 and 1965-66, and also passed penalty orders fo....

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....applied to the territories of the State of Punjab as that State was constituted on the partition of India on August 15, 1947. The State of Punjab so constituted continued in existence until it was again partitioned under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, with effect from the appointed day, November 1, 1966. The Punjab General Sales Tax Act, which had operated in the territories constituting the original State of Punjab up to October 31, 1966, continued as the law in force on and from November 1, 1966, even in those territories which now comprised the State of Haryana. This was pursuant to section 88 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. Its continuance was subject to any change in the law effected by the Haryana Legislature. The Haryan....

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....e main place of business of any such person is not in the said State, 'dealer' includes the local manager or agent of such person in Haryana in respect of such business. " Section 2(c) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, however, defines the word "dealer" in the following terms: "Section 2. (c) 'dealer' means any person including a department of Government who carries on, whether regularly or otherwise, trade whether with or without a profit-motive, directly or otherwise, whether for cash, deferred payment, commission, remuneration or other valuable consideration, of purchasing, selling, supplying or distributing any goods in the State, or importing into, or exporting out of the State any goods, irrespective of the fact that the main pl....

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....yana Act has to be read retrospectively with effect from September 7, 1955. Because, as we have pointed out, section 2(c) relates to the word "dealer" contained in the provisions of the Haryana Act, and the charging provision of the Haryana Act did not operate during the assessment years with which these appeals are concerned. These appeals will be governed by the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, and it is section 2(d) of that Act which must be looked to for ascertaining the definition of the word "dealer" in that Act. It may be mentioned that section 65 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act repealed the Punjab General Sales Tax Act. Section 65 contains a proviso that such repeal will not affect the previous operation of the repealed Act or a....

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.... of Taxes, Gauhati [1985] 60 STC 296 (SC); (1985) 2 SCALE 600, the question was whether a Government Medical Store Depot set up at Gauhati by the Central Government in the Ministry of Health, Family Planning and Urban Development, for the purpose of procuring and supplying medical stores to the Central and State Government institutions could be made liable to sales tax under the Assam Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1956, and under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The appellant, the Government Medical Store Depot, took the stand that the supply of medical stores to the Government institutions were without any profit-motive, on the basis of "no loss, no profit", and unless it was found that the transactions had been carried on with a view to making....