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Supreme Court of India· 16 April 2025

What is the condition precedent for a dealer to claim the concessional rate under Section 8(1) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956?

STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS. v. COMBINED TRADERS
2025 INSC 496 · CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1208 OF 2025
Coram: Abhay S. Oka; Ujjal Bhuyan
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Answer

By virtue of Section 8(4), the dealer selling the goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce must furnish to the prescribed authority, in the prescribed manner, a declaration duly filled containing the prescribed particulars in a prescribed form obtained from the prescribed authority and signed by the registered dealer to whom the goods are sold.

Headnote

Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 — s.8(1) — s.8(4) — s.13(1)(d) — s.13(3) — s.13(4) — Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 — r.12 — Central Sales Tax (Rajasthan) Rules, 1957 — r.17(20) — Declaration in Form C — Cancellation — Rule-making power — Ultra vires — Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 — s.8(4) — s.13(1)(d) — Form and particulars of the declaration — Held: The form of a declaration under Section 8(4) and the particulars it must contain are to be provided by rules framed by the Central Government under Section 13(1)(d). Furnishing that declaration is the condition precedent for the rate under Section 8(1). (¶11, 12) Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 — r.12 — No power to cancel Form C — Held further: The Central Registration Rules prescribe the form of declaration but confer no power on any authority to cancel a declaration in Form C, in contrast to the express provision they make for cancelling a certificate of registration. (¶14) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 — s.13(3), (4) — Limits of the State's rule-making power — Held further: None of the clauses of Section 13(4) empowers a State Government to provide for cancellation of a declaration. Its general power under Section 13(3) is circumscribed by the requirement that State rules not be inconsistent with the Central rules. (¶13, 15) Central Sales Tax (Rajasthan) Rules, 1957 — r.17(20) — Inconsistency with the Central rules — Held further: A State rule permitting cancellation of a declaration in Form C is inconsistent with the Central Registration Rules framed under Section 13(1)(d) and cannot be sustained. Appeal dismissed. (¶16, 18)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 11Firstly, we must advert to Section 8 of the CST Act. Sub-sections (1) and (4) of Section 8 as it stood at the relevant time, read thus:
Acts & Sections
s.13(1)(d) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956s.13(3) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956s.13(4) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956s.8(4) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956s.8(1) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956s.7(5) Central Sales Tax Act, 1956r.17(20) Central Sales Tax (Rajasthan) Rules, 1957r.12 Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957Art.226 Constitution of India

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Also decided in this judgment
Under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, may a State Government frame a rule empowering its authorities to cancel a declaration in Form C?Which government has the rule-making power to prescribe the form of, and particulars to be contained in, a declaration under Section 8(4) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956?Do the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 provide for cancellation of a declaration in Form C?How is a State Government's general rule-making power under Section 13(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 circumscribed?What did State of Madras v. R. Nand Lal & Co. lay down about the scheme of Section 13 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956?If a purchasing dealer's registration is found to be bogus, what statutory route remains open under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections