- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:-(1)"Appellate Authority" means the Authority authorised by the State Government under sub-section (5) of Section 3 to hear and decided appeals under section 34.(2)"Appointed day" means the date or dates appointed for the commencement of the provisions of this Act under sub-section (3) of the section 1.(3)"Assessing Officer" means any person appointed to assist the Commissioner under sub section (1) of section 3 to whom all or any of the powers of the Commissioner for the levy and collection of tax conferred by or under this Act or rules framed there under has been delegated by the Commissioner under sub section (3) of that section.(4)"Assessment" means an assessment or reassessment of tax payable under this Act.(5)"Business" includes -(i)any trade, commerce, manufacture of any adventure or concern in the nature of trade, commerce or manufacture whether or not such trade, commerce, manufacture adventure or concern is carried on with the motive to make gain or profit and whether or not any gain or profit accrues therefrom;(ii)the execution of any works contract or transfer of the right to use any goods for any purpose under a lease; and(iii)any transaction including the rendering of any service in connection with or incidental or ancillary to, such trade, commerce, manufacture, adventure, concern, works-contract or lease, or to the setting up of any such business;(6)"Commissioner" means a person appointed to be the Commissioner of Taxes under sub section (1) of section 3;(7)"Company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);(8)"Contractee" means any person at whose instance or for whose benefit a works-contract is executed;(9)"Contractor" means any person executing a works - contract and includes a sub contractor;(10)"Dealer" means any persons who carries on the business of selling or purchasing goods in the State and includes -(i)Government and local authority;(ii)a comparative society or a club or any association which supplies goods to its members or which sells goods supplied to it by its members;(iii)a factor, a broker, a commission agent, a del credere agent, and auctioneer or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called, and whether of the same description as herein before mentioned or not, who carries on the business of purchasing or selling goods and who has, in the customary of business, authority to purchase or sell goods for and on behalf of, or belong to principals whether resident within or outside the State; and includes a person delivering goods on the purchase or any system of payment of installment or making any sale within the meaning of clause (33) of this section;(iv)a contractor or a lessor;(11)"Declared goods" means goods declared under section 14 of the Central Sale Tax Act, 1956 (74 of 1956), to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce and the sale or which is taxable under this Act;(12)"Director" in relation to a company has the meaning assigned to it in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);(13)"Financial lease" means a lease, normally irrevocable, that transfers substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to the ownership of an asset which may or may not be eventually transferred;(14)"Firm, partner and partnership" have the meaning respectively assigned to them in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932);(15)"Goods" means all kinds of movable properties other than newspapers, actionable claims, stocks, or securities;(16)"Government" means the Central Government or the Government of any State or Union Territory in the Indian Union;(17)"Goods turnover" in respect of any period means the aggregate of the sale prices received or receivable or purchase prices paid or payable by the dealer in respect of all sales or purchases of goods effected by him during such period;(18)"Hire purchase" means an agreement under which goods are let on hire and the hirer has the option to purchase the goods in accordance with the terms of the agreement and under which -(i)possession of goods is delivered by the owner thereof to a person on condition that such persons pays the agreed amount in periodical installments;(ii)the property in the goods is to pass to such person on the payment of the last of such installments ; and(iii)such person has the right to terminate the agreement at any time before the property so passes;(19)"Lease" means any agreement or arrangement whereby the right to use any goods for any purpose is transferred by one person to another whether or not for a specified purpose for cash deferred payment or other valuable consideration without the transfer of ownership and includes a sub lease but does not include any transfer on hire purchase or any system of payment by installments;(20)"Lesee" means any person to whom the right to use any goods for any purpose is transferred under a lease;(21)"Lessor" means any person by whom the right to use any goods for any purpose is transferred under a lease;(22)"Manufacture" with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means producing, making, extracting, altering, ornamenting, blending, finishing or otherwise processing, treating or adapting any goods; but does not include a works contract or such manufactures or manufacturing processes as may be prescribed;(23)"Month" means the month according to the English calendar;(24)"Official Gazette" means the Official Gazette of the Government of the State;(25)"Operating lease" means a lease other than a financial lease;(26)"Person" means any individual or association or body of individuals and includes a department of the Government, a Hindu undivided or joint family, a firm and a company whether incorporated or not, or a public sector undertaking;(27)"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(28)"Principal Officer" used with reference to a company or association, means the Secretary, Manager, Managing Agent or Managing Director of the company or the Manager of the association and includes any person connected with the management of the affairs of the company or association upon whom the Commissioner has served a notice of his intention of treating him as the Principal Officer thereof;(29)"Public servant" has the same meaning as in section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860);(30)"Purchase price" means the amount paid or payable by a dealer as valuable consideration for the purchase of goods determined in the prescribed manner;(31)"Registered dealer" means a dealer registered under the provisions of this Act;(32)"Rules" means the rules framed under this Act;(33)"Sales" with all the grammatical variations and cognate expressions means any transfer of property in goods by any persons for cash, deterred payment or other valuable consideration, and includes-(i)Any transfer otherwise than in pursuance of a contract of property in any goods for cash, deterred payment or other valuable consideration;(ii)Any transfer of property in goods (whether as goods or in some other form) involved I the execution of a works-contract;(iii)Any delivery of goods on hire purchase or any system of payment by installments or under a financial lease;(iv)Any transer of the use of any goods under an operating lease;(v)Any supply of goods by an unincorporated association or a body of persons to a member thereof for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration;(vi)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;And such delivery, transfer or supply of any goods shall be deemed to be sale of those goods by the person making the delivery, transfer or supply and a purchase of those goods by the person to whom such delivery, transfer or supply is made, but does not include a mortgage, hypothecation, charge or pledge;Explanation. - A sale or purchase shall be deemed to have taken place in the State:-(a)In a case falling under sub clause (ii), if the goods are in the State at the time of their use, application or appropriation for the execution of the works contract notwithstanding that the agreement for the works contract has been wholly or in part entered into outside the State or that the goods have been, wholly or in part, moved from outside the State;(b)In a case falling under sub clause (iii), if the goods are delivered for use in the State;(c)In a case falling under sub clause (iv), if the goods are used by the lessee within the State during any period notwithstanding that the agreement for the lease has been made outside the State or that the goods have been delivered to the lessee outside the State;(d)In any other case if the goods are in the State -(i)In the case of specific or ascertained goods, at the time the contract of sale or purchase is made; and(ii)In the case of unascertained or future goods, at the time of their appropriation to the contract of sale or purchase by the seller, whether the assent of the buyer to such appropriation is prior or subsequent to appropriation;Provided that, where there is a single contract of sale or purchase in respect of goods situated. In the State as well as in places outside the State, the provision of the Explanation shall apply as if these were a separate contract of sale or purchase in respect of goods situated in the State.Explanation 2. - Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, two independent sales or purchases shall, for the purpose of this Act, be deemed to have taken place-(a)When the goods are transferred from a principal to his selling agent and from the selling agent to his purchaser, or(b)When the goods are transferred from the seller to a buying agent and from the buying agent to his principal, if the agent is found in either of the cases aforesaid-(i)To have sold the goods at one rate and passed on the ale proceeds to his principal at another rate; or(ii)to have purchased the goods at one rate and passed them on to his principal at another rate; or(iii)Not to have accounted to his principal for the entire collection or deductions made by him, in the sales or purchase effected by him on behalf of his principal; or(iv)To have acted for a fictitious or non existent principal.(34)"Sale Price" means:-(a)In respect of a sale falling under sub clause (ii) of clause (33) the consideration received or receivable by the dealer in respect of any works contract executed or under execution by him as increased by the market price of any goods supplied or to be supplied to him free of cost or the excess of the market price over the price charged on any goods supplied to be supplied to him at a concessional rate by the contractee or any other person for use, application or appropriation in the works-contract;Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub clause, all contracts in relation to the same works, whether between the same or different persons, shall be deemed to be a single contract, and the person, or whom the Commissioner has served a notice of his intention so to treat him, shall be deemed to be the contractor and all the other persons shall be deemed to be sub-contractors of such contractor;(b)In respect of a sale falling under sub-clause (iii) of clause (33) the price which the goods would have fetched if sold on the date they were delivered;(c)In respect of a sale falling under sub-clause (iv) of clause (33), the consideration received or receivable by the dealer in respect of the lease;Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-clause the consideration received or receivable by the dealer shall include such amount as may be determined in the prescribed manner in respect of any lump sum payment of whatever nature received or receivable by him in consideration of the lease.(d)In respect of a sale under any other sub-clause of clause (33), the amount received or receivable by a dealer as valuable consideration for the sale of goods including any sum charged, whether stated separately or not for anything done by the dealer in respect of the goods at the time of or before delivery thereof or undertaken to be done after the delivery whether under the contract of sale or under a separate contract but excluding -(i)The cost of outward freight, delivery, or installation or interest when such cost or interest is separately charged, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, and(ii)Any sum allowed as a cash discount according to ordinary trade practice;Provided that in a case where there is no bill of sale or the sale bill is, in the opinion of the assessing authority, for an amount substantially lower than the market price of the goods, the valuable consideration receivable by the dealer shall be taken to be the market price determined in the prescribed manner.Explanation 1. - Any tax, cess or duty which is liable to be paid in respect of any goods before the buyer can obtain delivery and possession of such goods and all costs, expenses and charges incurred before the goods are put in a deliverable state shall, notwithstanding any agreement, covenant or understanding that such tax, cess, duty, costs, expenses or other charges be born or paid by the buyer or any other person, be included in the sale price:Explanation 2. - Where any good are purchased of 500 packed in containers or other packing materials of value which is small in comparison with the value of such goods or such packing is essential or customary for the purchase or sale of such goods then, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary such containers or other packing materials shall be deemed to have been purchased or sold with such goods and their value, whether charged separately or not, shall be included I the purchase or sale price of such goods and charged to tax at the rate, if any, applicable to such goods.(35)"State means the State of Assam;(36)"Tax" means the tax payable under this Act on the sale or purchase of goods and includes any tax payable on the transfer of property in goods (whether as goods or in any other form) involved in the a works-contract or on the transfer of the right to use any goods for any purpose;(37)"Tribunal" means the Assam Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal appointed under section 5;(38)"Works contract" means and includes any agreement for carrying out-(i)The construction, fitting out, improvement or repair of any building, road, bridge, dam or other immovable property; or(ii)The installation, fabrication, assembling, commissioning or repair of any plant or machinery, whether or not affixed to any building or other immovable property; or(iii)The overhauling or repairing or dismantling of -(a)Any motor vehicle,(b)Any sea-going vessel,(c)Any other vessel propelled by mechanical means;(d)Any aircraft; or(e)Any equipment or necessary part of any of the aforesaid items; or(iv)The fitting out or fabrication, assembling altering, or re-assembling, blending, furnishing, improving, processing or otherwise treating or adapting any goods; and(v)The supply of goods and provision of known how, designs, labour-supervision inspection, training or other services in connection with any of the operations mentioned in sub-clauses (i) to (iv) above.Explanation. - All contracts including sub-contracts in relation to the same works, for the supply of goods or provision of services by any person shall whether they are between the same or different persons and whether any consideration, is stiulated or not, be deemed to be a single contract constituting the works-contract and the provisions of this Act relating to taxation of the transfer of property in good involved in a works-contract (whether as goods or in some other form) shall apply accordingly; and(39)"Year" means the official financial year of the Government.
