Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (1) "Additional Commissioner" means an Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5 or deemed to have been appointed under clause (c) of section 107; (2) "Appellate and Revisional Board" means the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board deemed to have been constituted under section 6; (3) "appointed day", in relation to any provision of this Act, means the date on which such provision comes into force; (4) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Investigation constituted under section 7 or deemed to have been constituted under clause (e) of section 107; Definitions. 447 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. [West Ben. Act (Chapter I.—Preliminary—Section 2.) (5) "business" includes— (a) any trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract or any adventure or concern in the nature of trade, commerce, manufacture or execution of works contract, whether or not such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern is carried on with the motive to make profit and whether or not any profit accrues from such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern; and (b) any transaction in connection with, or ancillary or incidental to, such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern; (6) "casual trader" means a person, other than a registered dealer, who, whether as a principal or agent or in any other capacity, makes occasional purchases of goods, other than goods specified in Schedule IV, in West Bengal for purposes other than his personal use or consumption of such goods in West Bengal or makes occasional sales of goods, other than goods specified in Schedule IV, in West Bengal, and who has no fixed place of business in West Bengal, and includes a consignor or consignee of such goods in West Bengal or a transporter as defined in clause (a) of the Explanation to section 72 and an owner or lessee of a warehouse let out to any person for storage of such goods. Explanation 1.—A transporter, who while carrying goods, other than goods specified in Schedule IV, in his goods vehicle within the meaning of section 72 fails to disclose the name and address of the consignee or consignor in West Bengal, or fails to furnish copy of invoice, challan, transport receipt or consignment note or document of like nature, in respect of such goods, shall be deemed to be a casual trader in respect of such goods carried in his goods vehicle. Explanation 2.—An owner or lessee of a warehouse, who fails to disclose the name and address of the owner of any goods, other than goods specified in Schedule IV, stored in such warehouse shall be deemed to be a casual trader in respect of such goods; (7) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 or deemed to have been appointed under clause (c) of section 107; (8) "company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the t of 1956. Companies Act, 1956, and includes a body corporate or corporation within the meaning of clause (7) of section 2, or a foreign company referred to in section 591, of that Act; 448 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. XLIX of 19941 (Chapter 1.—Prelanincay.--Section 2.) (9) "contractual transfer price", in relation to any period, shall mean the aggregate of the amounts received or receivable by a dealer during such period for the transfer of property in goods used by way of accretion or accession in West Bengal in execution of a works contract, whether or not the amount received or receivable for such transfer is shown separately in the works contract, and shall comprise the value of such goods purchased, manufactured, processed or procured otherwise, by the dealer and the cost of freight or delivery as may be incurred by such dealer for carrying such goods to the place where such goods are used in execution of such works contract, but shall not include such portion of the amounts as aforesaid as may be prescribed; (10) "dealer" means any person who carries on the business of selling or purchasing goods in West Bengal or any person making sales under section 15, and includes— (a) an occupier of a jute-mill or shipper of jute; (b) Government, a local authority, a statutory body, a trust or other body corporate which, or a liquidator or a receiver appointed by a court in respect of a person, being a dealer as defined in this clause, who, whether or not in the course of business, sells, supplies or distributes directly or otherwise goods for cash or for deferred payment or for commission, remuneration or other valuable consideration. Explanation /.—A co-operative society or a club or any association which sells goods to its members is a dealer. Explanation 2.—A factor, a broker, a commission agent, a del credere agent, an auctioneer, an agent for handling or transporting of goods or handling of document of title to goods or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called, and whether of the same description as hereinbefore mentioned or not, who carries on the business of selling goods and who has, in the customary course of business, authority to sell goods belonging to principals, is a dealer; (11) "director", in relation to a company, includes any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called; (12) "enrolled" means enrolled under sub-section (3) of section 19; (13) "goods" includes all kinds of movable property other than actionable claims, stocks, shares or securities; (14) "Government" means the Central Government, the Government of any State or the Government of any Union Territory; (15) "jute" means the plant known botanically as belonging to the genus corchorus, and includes all the species of that genus, whether known commonly as pat, kosta, nalia, or by any other name, and also means the plant known botanically as hibiscus cannabinus and commonly as mesta; 449 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. [West Ben. Act (Chapter L—Preliminary.—Section 2.) (16) "jute-mill" means a factory as defined in, or declared to be a factory under, the Factories Act, 1948, which is engaged wholly or in part in the manufacture of jute products; (17) "manufacture", with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means producing, making, extracting or blending any goods or such processing of any goods as may be prescribed, but does not include a works contract or such manufactures or manufacturing processes as may be prescribed; (18) "motor spirit" means any liquid or admixture of liquids which is ordinarily used directly or indirectly as fuel for a motor vehicle or stationary internal combustion engine. Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, the expression "motor vehicle" shall include any means of carriage, conveyance or transport by land, air or water; (19) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (20) "occupier of a jute-mill" means the person who has ultimate control over the affairs of the jute-mill; (21) "partnership", "partner" and "firm" shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932; (22) "place of business" means any place where a dealer sells any goods or keeps accounts relating to sales or purchases of goods, and includes any warehouse of such dealer; (23) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (24) -principal officer", in relation to a company, means the secretary, manager, director or managing director of such company; (25) "purchase" means any transfer of property in goods to the person making the purchase for cash or deferred payment or other valuable consideration, but does not include a transfer by way of mortgage, hypothecation, charge or pledge; (26) "purchase price" means the amount of valuable consideration paid or payable by a person for the purchase of any goods, less any sum allowed as cash discount according to ordinary trade practice, but including any sum charged for anything done by the seller in respect of the goods at the time of, or before, delivery thereof, other than the cost of freight or delivery or the cost of installation or interest when such cost or interest is separately charged; 63 of 1948. 9 of t932. 450 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. XLIX of 1994.] (Chapter 1.—Prelirninary.--Section 2.) (27) "raw jute" means the fibre of jute which has not been subjected to any process of spinning or weaving, and includes jute cuttings, whether loose or packed in drums or bales; (28) "registered" means registered under section 26 or section 27; (29) "rules" means the rules made under this Act; (30) "sale" means any transfer of property in goods for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration, and includes— (a) any transfer, otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, of property in any goods for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration; (b) any delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any system of payment by instalments; (c) any transfer of the right to use any goods for any purpose (whether or not for a specified period) for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration; (d) any supply, by way of, or as part of, any service or in any other manner whatsoever, of goods, being food or any other article for human consumption or any drink (whether or not intoxicating), where such supply or service is for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration; (e) any supply of goods by any unincorporated association or body of persons to a member thereof for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration; and such transfer, delivery, or supply of any goods shall be deemed to be a sale of those goods by the person or unincorporated association or body of persons making the transfer, delivery, or supply and a purchase of those goods by the person to whom such transfer, delivery, or supply is made, but does not include a mortgage, hypothecation, charge or pledge. Explanation.—A sale shall be deemed to take place in West Bengal if the goods are within West Bengal,— (a) in the case of specific or ascertained goods, at the time the contract of sale is made; and (b) in the case of unascertained or future goods, at the time of their appropriation to the contract of sale by the seller, whether the assent of the buyer to such appropriation is prior or subsequent to the appropriation: Provided that where there is a single contract of sale in respect of goods situated in West Bengal as well as in places outside West Bengal, provisions of this Explanation shall apply as if there were a separate contract of sale in respect of the goods situated in West Bengal; 451 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. [West Ben. Act (Chapter 1.—Preliminary.—Section 2.) (31) "sale-price" means the amount payable to a dealer as valuable consideration for the sale, other than that referred to in section 15, of any goods, less any sum allowed as cash discount according to ordinary trade practice, but including any sum charged for anything done by the dealer in respect of the goods at the time of, or before, delivery thereof, other than the cost of freight or delivery or the cost of installation or interest when such cost or interest is separately charged; (32) "shipper of jute" means any person who purchases raw jute and supplies it himself or by an agent to any person including himself outside West Bengal; (33) "Special Commissioner" means the Special Commissioner of Commercial Taxes appointed under sub-section (1) of section 4 or deemed to have been appointed under clause (c) of section 107; (34) "specified purchase price", in relation to any period, means the aggregate of the purchase prices or parts of purchase prices paid or payable by a dealer during such period in respect of purchases liable to tax under section 13, after deducting therefrom the amount, if any, refunded to the dealer by the seller in respect of any such purchase of goods returned to the seller; (35) "tax" means the tax payable under this Act; (36) "Tax Recovery Officer" means a Tax Recovery Officer appointed by the State Government under sub-section (4) of section 52; (37) "the State Government" means the Government of West Bengal; (38) "Tribunal" means the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal established under section 3 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987; (39) "turnover of purchases", in relation to any period, means,— (a) in the case of the occupier of a jute mill, the aggregate of the purchase prices or parts of purchase prices payable by such occupier for the quantities of raw jute purchased by him during such period after deducting the amounts, if any, refunded to him by the seller during such period in respect of any quantity of raw jute returned to the seller within ninety days from the date of its purchase and such other amounts as may be prescribed; (b) in the case of a shipper of jute, the aggregate of the purchase prices or parts of purchase prices payable by such shipper of jute in respect of the quantities of raw jute purchased by him in West Bengal and despatched by him during such period to any place outside West Bengal and despatched by him during such period to any place outside West Bengal by any means of transit; West Ben. Act VIII of 1987. 452 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. XLIX of 1994.] (Chapter 1.—Prelbninaty.—Section 2.) (40) "turnover of sales", in relation to any period, means the aggregate of the sale-prices or parts of sale-prices receivable by a dealer, or if a dealer so elects, actually received by the dealer, during such period after deducting therefrom— (a) the sale-prices or the parts of sale-prices, if any, in respect of sale during such period, of sugar, tobacco, cotton fabrics, woollen fabrics and man-made fabrics on which additional 58 of 1957. excise duty in lieu of sales tax is levied under the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957, and of goods specified in Schedule IV which are shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to have been purchased by the dealer in West Bengal. (b) the amounts, if any, refunded by the dealer in respect of any goods returned by the purchaser within such period, and (c) the amounts, if any, separately charged as turnover tax payable under section 16 during such period: Provided that an election as aforesaid once made shall not be altered except with the permission of the Commissioner and on such terms and conditions as he may think fit to impose; (41) "warehouse" means any enclosure, building or place where a dealer or a person keeps stocks of goods, and includes a vessel, vehicle or godown; (42) "works contract" means any agreement for carrying out for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration— (a) the construction, fitting out, improvement or repair of any building, road, bridge or other immovable property, (b) the installation or repair of any machinery affixed to a building or other immovable poperty, (c) the overhaul or repair of— (i) any motor vehicle, (ii) any sea-going vessel, river craft or steamer, (iii) any other vessel propelled by internal combustion engine or by any other mechanical means, (iv) railway engine, (v) any aircraft, or (vi) any component or accessory part of any of the goods mentioned in items (i) to (v), or (d) the fitting of, assembling, altering, ornamenting, finishing, furnishing, improving, processing other than the processing referred to in clause 07), treating or adapting any goods; (43) "year", in relation to any particular dealer, means the year by reference to which, according to a declaration made by such dealer, the accounts of such dealer are ordinarily maintained in his books, and where no such declaration is made, the year commencing on the first day of January and ending on the last day of December according to the British calendar: 453 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. [West Ben. Act (Chapter IL—Taxing Authorities, Appellate and Revisional Board and Bureau.—Sections 3, 4.) Provided that a registered dealer shall not change his year except with the previous permission of the Commissioner and except on such terms and conditions as the Commissioner may determine. CHAPTER II Taxing Authorities, Appellate and Revisional Board and Bureau Commis- sioner and other authorities and delegation of power by Commis- sioner. Special Commis- sioner.