TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1995 (2) TMI 374
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....is the Controller of Stores, Central Railway, Bombay. It is registered as a dealer under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 ("the Act"). It was assessed under the Act for the period April 1, 1984 to March 31, 1985, by the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax ("assessing officer") by his order of assessment dated March 31, 1986. 3.. The controversy pertains to levy of sales tax on the sales turnover of goods sold by the assessee by public auction and the canteen sales made by it during the period April 1, 1984 to March 31, 1985. The value of the goods disposed of by auction was Rs. 9,71,65,403 and the canteen sales amounted to Rs. 1,45,20,000. By the said assessment, certain sales of disposal materials made by the assessee were subjected to ta....
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....to Mr. Surte, the decision of the Supreme Court in District Controller of Stores, Northern Railway v. Assistant Commercial Taxation Officer [1976] 37 STC 423 is not applicable because of difference in the definition of "business" under the Act and under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, which was considered by the Supreme Court in the above decision. 6.. We have carefully perused the decision of the Supreme Court in District Controller of Stores, Northern Railway v. Assistant Commercial Taxation Officer [1976] 37 STC 423 and also the definition of "business" in clause (5A) of section 2 of the Act as it stood at the material time. We find that the above decision of the Supreme Court clearly applies to the facts of the present case. The a....
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....acture and any transaction in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to, such trade, commerce, manufacture, adventure or concern;" 8.. The scope and ambit of "business", as defined in clause (5A) of section 2 of the Act, was enlarged and amplified by amendments made from time to time. It is however not necessary for us to refer to those amendments as, in our opinion, the case of the assessee falls even under unamended clause (5A) which has been set out above. Moreover, by the Bombay Sales Tax (Amendment and Validating Provisions) Act, 1985 (Act 24 of 1985), the following Explanation was added to the definition of "dealer" in clause (11) of section 2 of the Act: "Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, each of the following ....
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....s on the ground that the persons specified in the Explanation were not "dealers" within the meaning of section 2(11) of the Act. 9.. From a conjoint reading of the definitions of "dealer" and "business", as they stood at the material time, it is manifest that a person would be a dealer if he carries on business, which includes: (i) any trade, commerce or manufacture or concern in the nature of trade, commerce or manufacture, and (ii) any transaction in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to, such trade, commerce, manufacture, adventure or concern. Indian Railways, would be a dealer if it meets the above requirements. 10.. Learned counsel for the assessee submits that Indian Railways cannot be held to be a deale....