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Judgment
Since the point involved in both the cases is the same, they are dealt with together. The disputed turnover in both the cases represents the sale
value of silver coins which have been made to the order placed by the Sankara Mutt. The assessee has firstly contended before the Tribunal that
the amount received by sale of the coins made out of silver was the amount received for work and labour and therefore the turnover cannot be
taxed.
But, the Tribunal found that the assessee has used his own silver for manufacturing the coins according to the specifications given by the
purchaser that therefore, the coins should be taken to have been sold as finished goods and that it does not involve purely a works contract. The
second point urged by the assessee before the Tribunal was that the sale of silver coins was without any profit-motive and therefore, it should not
be taxed as sale. The Tribunal held that for purposes of sales tax profit element does not come in. Once there is a sale, whether the seller makes a
profit or not out of the transaction, the same is liable to be taxed. Therefore, the Tribunal has rightly held that even though the assessee has not
earned any profit out of the transaction, he is liable to be taxed as a seller. The third contention put forward by the assessee before the Tribunal
was that the sale of coins should be taken as the sale of specie and therefore, the sales should be taxed at the lower rate of 2% and not at 4% as
has been done by the assessing authority. The Tribunal has held that the assessee has made the coins out of the old silver and silver ornaments and
therefore, the manufactured product, viz., silver coins, cannot be said to be a specie. The Tribunal has relied on the decision of the Supreme Court
in Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Law), Board of Revenue (Taxes), Ernakulam Vs. G.S. Pai and Co., , to justify its conclusion that the coins
manufactured by the assessee cannot be taken to be a specie. We agree with the findings of the Tribunal on all the points.
In the result, both the tax cases are dismissed.