In Brief
The appellant imported goods into West Bengal and stored them in a bonded warehouse. Subsequently, he sold these goods as "ship stores" to foreign-bound ships. He claimed the sales were exempt from sales tax, arguing they were sales in the course of export. The Supreme Court held that because the goods were consumed aboard the ships before reaching any foreign destination, they did not qualify as exports. Moreover, since the goods were sold from the bonded warehouse, which lies beyond the customs port, the sale was subject to State sales tax. The Court dismissed the appeals, finding the sales were not exempt transactions.
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