Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959

The appellant, a manufacturing dealer, purchased raw materials both within Maharashtra and from other states and claimed set‑off of purchase tax against sales tax under Bombay Sales Tax Rules 41 and 41A. The rules require that the set‑off be reduced by one per cent of the sale price of goods dispatched to the dealer’s …

The case concerned a show‑cause notice issued under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 for alleged short levy of excise duty by a sole proprietor who died in 1989. The legal heirs challenged the notice, arguing that the Act contains no provision to continue assessment against a dead person’s estate. The Supreme Cou…

The appellant, a partner in a firm assessed under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, claimed that a settlement with the State Minister for Finance had discharged his individual liability for the firm’s tax dues, and that the Commissioner had acted on this settlement. The Revenue contested the existence and effect of such …

The Supreme Court examined whether the sale of lottery tickets falls within the definition of "goods" for the purpose of State sales tax statutes. The Court held that a lottery ticket is merely a token evidencing a chance to win a prize, which constitutes an actionable claim under the Transfer of Property Act, not a mo…

The Supreme Court examined whether the statutory first‑charge provisions in the Bombay Sales Tax Act (s.38C) and the Kerala General Sales Tax Act (s.26B) conflicted with the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (ORT Act) and the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and En…

The State of Maharashtra appealed against The Britannia Biscuits Co. Ltd., which sold biscuits in tins and collected a refundable deposit for the tins, refunding it only if the tins were returned within three months. The Assessing Authority treated the amount written off from unreturned tin deposits (Rs 84,013) as part…

Delta Distilleries supplied Indian Made Foreign Liquor to United Spirits under a contract that made the buyer responsible for sales tax. A dispute arose over a set‑off/refund claimed by Delta from the Sales Tax Department, which United Spirits argued reduced its tax burden. The arbitral tribunal allowed United Spirits …

The appellant, a cooperative society engaged in sugar manufacturing, obtained sugarcane from its farmer members, gave them advances, and processed the cane into sugar. The Sales Tax Officer assessed purchase tax under Section 14B of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, holding the supply to be a purchase, a view affirmed by…

The Sai Publication Fund, a trust created by devotees of Sai Baba to spread his teachings, published and sold books, pamphlets and related material at nominal cost. The Commissioner of Sales Tax contended that the trust was a "dealer" under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, invoking the amended definition of "business" i…

Mahalaxmi Stores purchased large stone boulders and crushed them into smaller stones known as 'gitti'. The issue was whether this crushing process constituted 'manufacture' under Section 2(17) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, thereby attracting sales tax. The Sales Tax Tribunal and the Bombay High Court held that it …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (as amended) and the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 (section 13‑AA) could levy a tax on the despatch of manufactured goods to a dealer’s own branches outside the State. It held that the taxable event under both statutes is the consignment/despatch o…

The Supreme Court considered two appeals by the Commissioner of Sales Tax challenging set‑off claims made by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (an oil refinery) and Phulgaon Cotton Mills Ltd. Both assessees had paid sales tax on raw materials—sulphuric acid and raw cotton—used in manufacturing processes that produced b…

The Supreme Court examined whether State governments could levy sales tax on the supply of food and drinks after the Constitution (Forty‑sixth Amendment) Act, 1982 inserted clause 29A in Article 366. The petitioners – restaurant owners in Tamil Nadu, residential‑hotel owners in Maharashtra and a halwai in Uttar Pradesh…

Prism Cement Ltd., a unit that had been granted an absolute tax exemption under the Package Scheme of Incentives 1993 (PSI 1993) through an Eligibility Certificate (20‑02‑1998) and an Entitlement Certificate (24‑03‑1998), challenged the Maharashtra State's attempt to withdraw that benefit after the Finance Act, 2002 am…

After the reorganisation of states under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Assistant Sales Tax Officers (ASTOs) from the former States of Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad were allocated to the new State of Bombay, where there were no comparable posts. The State Government issued several resolutions altering seniority an…

The appellants, industrial units that had invested in backward areas of Maharashtra, claimed that a 2009 amendment to the Maharashtra Value Added Tax (MVAT) Act retrospectively altered Section 93, limiting their VAT exemption to a proportion of turnover, thereby violating Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. T…

L.M. Mahurkar, a sales tax practitioner with only a matriculation qualification, was denied enrollment as an advocate by the Bar Council of Maharashtra after the Advocates Act, 1961 came into force. He claimed that his prior right to appear before the Bombay Sales Tax Authority, exercised under the Bombay Sales Tax Act…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of purchase‑tax provisions in the sales‑tax statutes of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Bombay, which imposed tax on goods purchased for manufacture when the finished goods were dispatched out of the state without a sale. Dealers challenged these provisions on the gro…

The plaintiff, a hotel operator, entered into a 1967 agreement with the owner (defendant) described as an “agreement for conducting” the hotel business, wherein the plaintiff paid a monthly royalty and was responsible for expenses, while the owner retained ownership. After the owner served notice to vacate, the plainti…

The appellants, Hindustan Brown Boveri Ltd. and Elecon Engineering Co. Ltd., were recognised dealers under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act who purchased raw materials using Form 19 certificates stating the materials would be used to manufacture taxable goods for sale within Gujarat. They later sold part of the manufactured g…

The Supreme Court examined a batch of six appeals concerning the taxability of Replenishment Licences (REP licences) and the Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme under various State sales tax statutes. The appellants argued that the three‑judge decision in Vikas Sales Corporation v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes,…

Tata Motors Ltd., a manufacturer of motor vehicle chassis and parts, claimed a set‑off of sales tax for purchases of steel that later became scrap, invoking Rules 41D and 41E of the Bombay Sales Tax Rules. The Maharashtra Sales Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Repeal) Act, 1989 retrospectively withdrew that set‑off benefi…