TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1974 (11) TMI 83
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....ect of the impugned sale?" Section 9(1) mentioned in the said question is really the first proviso to section 9 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953. The relevant provisions of section 9 are as follows: "9. Levy of general sales tax.-Subject to the provisions of section 7, there shall be levied a general sales tax on the turnover of sales of goods specified in column 1 of Schedule B at the rates, if any, specified against them in column 3 of the said schedule: Provided that-(1) no general sales tax shall be levied on the sales of goods to a dealer who holds a licence and furnishes to the selling dealer a certificate in the prescribed form declaring inter alia that the goods so sold to him are intended for resale by him." Before we set....
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....n form K or L, as the case may be, in respect of the goods purchased by the licensee. The certificates in the said form K or L furnished by the licensee shall be serially numbered by him in chronological order and the licensee shall keep and produce before the Collector or the assessing authority, if so required, mechanically duplicated (or carbon) copies of such certificates duly signed and dated. 7.. The licensee may for the purpose of paragraph 6 of this licence nominate any person to sign certificates on his behalf in respect of goods purchased by the licensee under this licence and the name and signature of the person so nominated shall be entered in the statement appended to this licence. 8.. The licensee or any person nominated....
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....tificate was signed by a person who was not so nominated was inconsequential and did not affect the validity of the certificate and in support of this contention Mr. Patil has relied before us upon a judgment of the Supreme Court in State of Orissa v. M.A. Tulloch and Co. Ltd.[1964] 15 S.T.C. 641 (S.C.). That was a case under the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947. Under section 5(2)(a)(ii) of the said Act "sales to a registered dealer of goods specified in the purchasing dealer's certificate of registration as being intended for resale by him in Orissa......and on sales to a registered dealer of containers or other materials for the packing of such goods" were exempt from tax provided that if these goods were used by the registered dealer for purp....
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....ubstantial compliance with the rule was sufficient. This case came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in Kedarnath Jute Manufacturing Co. Ltd. v. Commercial Tax Officer and Others[1965] 16 S.T.C. 607 (S.C.)., a case under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941. Section 5(2)(a)(ii) of the said Act exempted from the taxable turnover all sales to a registered dealer of goods of the class or classes specified in the certificate of registration of the dealer as being intended for the purposes mentioned therein, the condition for obtaining such exemption being the furnishing by the purchasing dealer of a declaration duly filled up and signed by him and containing the prescribed particulars on a prescribed form obtained from the presc....
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.... to prevent fraud and collusion in an attempt to evade tax. In the nature of things, in view of innumerable transactions that may be entered into between dealers, it will well-nigh be impossible for the taxing authorities to ascertain in each case whether a dealer has sold the specified goods to another for the purposes mentioned in the section. Therefore, presumably to achieve the twofold object, namely, prevention of fraud and facilitating administrative efficiency, the exemption given is made subject to a condition that the person claiming the exemption shall furnish a declaration form in the manner prescribed under the section. The liberal construction suggested will facilitate the commission of fraud and introduce administrative inconv....
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....ent with respect to the signature is vital to the very validity of the certificate, for it is a signature to the declaration that the goods purchased are intended for resale and such a declaration can only be made either by the purchasing dealer himself or someone duly authorised by him. When such an authorisation is by statute or by rules required to be in a particular form, there cannot be said to be a proper authorisation unless the statutory requirement is strictly complied with. Mr. Patil, however, relied upon a judgment of a Division Bench of this High Court, namely, Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State v. Hindustan Silk Mills, Bombay-2[1972] 29 S.T.C. 99. In that case, in order to support his claim for deductions under the....