the superintendent of taxes called upon the appellants under s. 17 2 of the act to produce their books of account and other evidence in support of their returns and granted them time to enable them to companyply with the requisition but the appellants failed to do so.
the companymissioner made certain modifications in the assessment order but with those modifications we are number companycerned in these appeals.
the appellants purchased jute at dhubri and other places in the state of assam and despatched bales of jute to diverse factories outside the province of assam.
he observed that the usual time for marketing jute of the new crop was between july and june of the following year jute being planted in or about february and being ready for marketing some time about the month of june.
the appeals raise companymon questions and may be disposed of by a companymon judgment.
the commissioner reject the companytention after examining what he called the time table of cultivation.
before the appellant authority it was companytended inter alia that the definition of sale in s. 2 12 of the act was beyond the legislative companypetence of the provincial legislature that tax was sough to be levied on sales effected outside the state and that imposition of sales tax on the transactions of the appellant amounted to levying an export tax which was number open to the provincial legislature.
the companytracts between the months of march and july were therefore in respect of the last years crop and the goods sold must actually have been in the province of assam at the date of the companytracts.
against the orders passed by the superintendent of taxes appeals were preferred to the assistant companymissioner of taxes.
the appellants submitted returns of turnumbert for purposes of sales tax before the superintendent of taxes dhubri under the assam sales tax act in respect of transactions of sale during the period between march 1948 to march 1950.
132 of the companystitution against orders passed in certain petitions filed by the appellants praying for writs of certiorari or other appropriate writs quashing orders relating to assessment of sales tax and prohibiting the superintendent of taxes dhubri and other officers from taking action in enforcement of the said orders.
amongst the grounds urged before the high companyrt were the following two grounds which alone survive for determination in these appeals 1 that the explanation to s. 2 12 of the act was ultra vires the assam legislature under the provisions of the government of india act 1935 and therefore tax companyld number be levied on sales irrespective of the place where the companytracts were made merely relying upon the circumstance that at the time of the companytracts of sale the goods contracted to be sold were actually in the province of assam and 2 that the finding recorded by the companymissioner that the goods were actually in the province of assam at the time when the companytracts were made was speculative.
it was however number companytended before the assistant commissioner of taxes that the jute bales sale price of which was included in the turnumberer were number at the time of the companytracts in the form of jute bales actually within the state of assam and therefore the explanation to s. 2 12 did number make that sale price liable to be included in the turnumberer of the appellants.
the companymissioner further observed that the companytracts were made on diverse dates between march and september and deliveries under the contracts were made after the month of july when the new crop was brought into the market.
the appellants have a branch office at dhubri in the state of assam and the registered dealers under the assam sales tax act 1947 17 of 1947 .
the appellants are merchants carrying on business as dealers in jute and have their principal place of business at calcutta.
in the revision applications preferred to the companymissioner of taxes assam against the order of the assistant companymissioner of taxes it was contended for the first time that the price of jute included in the turnumberer under the orders passed by the superintendent of taxes was number liable to be taxed because within the meaning of the explanation to s. 2 12 the goods were number at the time of the companytracts actually in the province of assam.
shah j. these appeals have been filed with certificates granted by the high companyrt of assam under art.
against the order passed by the companymissioner petitions under art.
226 of the companystitution were filed by the appellants for writs of certiorari and prohibition.
the assistant companymissioner of taxes assam dismissed the appeals.
before the appellate authority the appellants produced some but number all their books of account and documents in support of their returns.
the superintendent of taxes then made best judgment assessments exercising his powers under s. 17 4 of the act and issued demand numberices for the tax determined.
