TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1983 (4) TMI 249
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....r 1970-71 as Rs. 2,03,36,503.04 and Rs. 1,69,51,635.43, the assessing authority determined the taxable turnover slightly less than the reported taxable turnover because the assessee preferred its claim for higher exemption towards export sale. Subsequently during the overcheck of accounts it was noticed that the assessee had collected Rs. 60 to Rs. 70 per roll of raw films in the first instance and at the later stage at Rs. 20 per roll towards air freight charges in respect of sales of imported films. Therefore the assessing authority felt that the assessee should have included the air freight charges also in the total and taxable turnover. The assessee explained that the imports of raw films were made from the German Democratic Republic on....
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....eals filed before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal also failed. Hence these revisions. The Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal has extracted a specimen invoice raised by the assessee in favour of the purchaser and after considering the records and the documents had confirmed the view taken by the Revenue. In the specimen invoice dated 31st March, 1970, for the sale of 18 rolls, the net price has been shown as Rs. 2,775.56, sales tax at 15 per cent thereon has been charged separately as Rs. 416.33, the air freight charges at Rs. 20 per roll has been shown below the sales tax as Rs. 360 for 18 rolls and after including the packing and forwarding charges of Rs. 27.76 the total invoice amount is shown as Rs. 3....
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....ght charges as extra in addition to the shipping charges, though actually the assessee did not incur the shipping freight, but incurred only air freight. A careful consideration of the above facts reveals that the seller has or shall be deemed to have collected the air freight charges as a pre-sale service and not as any post-sale service charge. In their letter dated 6th August, 1969, to the Indian Motion Pictures Export Corporation, Bombay, the assessee has expressed that the shipment of the raw film will take about 8 to 10 weeks from Germany to Bombay, that if the materials are imported by air, it would approximately take only three weeks and that if the Export Corporation was willing to agree on behalf of the purchasers to pay the air ....
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....he air freight charges will be more than the shipping charges. Whatever it is, the price of the imported film rolls will include either the shipping charges or the air freight charges at the point of sale to the purchaser by the assessee. It is only in this treatment, the assessing authority and the appellate authority have included the air freight charges collected by the assessee in their invoices in the total and taxable turnovers for the two assessment years. No doubt, the assessee had requested to treat the air freight charges as special service charges for the services rendered to help the industry and not to treat it as pre-sale charge. There is no question of any service here since the act of import of the goods automatically involv....