Dealer, Auction - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition dealer-auction

Definition :

Dealer, auction, a person who in the normal course of his business attends sales by auction for the purpose of purchasing goods with a view to reselling them, Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Act, 1927, s. 1(2) (UK), Halsbury's Laws of England (2), para 944, p. 461.

means a person carrying on the business of selling fertilisers, whether wholesale or retail (or industrial use), and includes a manufacturer and a pool-handling agency carrying on such business and the agents of such person, manufacturer or pool-handling agency, State of Punjab v. Gunomajra Cooperative Agriculture Service Society Ltd., (2000) 9 SCC 210.

There is nothing either in the main definition in s. 2(5) or in the Explanation of the Orissa Taxation (on Goods Carried by Road and Inland Water ways) Act, 1959 to suggest that the manager or agent of the dealer (principal) should have his own business within the State of Orissa before he could be proceeded against or assessed under the Act. It would be sufficient if the manager or agent of a non-resident dealer looks after the operation of stocking or storing the jute of that non-resident dealer and carrying the same by motor boats etc. Within the State of Orissa. On a plain reading of the Explanation it clearly is not a requirement qua the manager or agent that the manager or agent should at least reside or have a place of business within the State of Orissa before he could be proceeded against or assessed under the Act. Under the Explanation the manager or agent of a 'dealer' who resides outside the State is also deemed to be a 'dealer' for the purpose of the Act irrespective of whether he resides inside or outside the State. In other words the place of residence or of business of the manager of the agent is utterly irrelevant. The artificial definition of a 'dealer' under the Explanation is merely an enabling provision which facilitates the assessment against a non-resident dealer but the provision does not require that the manager or the agent should have either a residence or a place of business within the State of Orissa, Mcleod and Company Ltd. v. State of Orissa, (1984) 1 SCC 434: AIR 1984 SC 590: (1984) 1 SCR 865.

Before a person can be said to be a 'dealer' it must be shown that he carries on business of purchase or sale or storage for sale of any of the commodities specified in the Schedule, and that the sale must be in quantity to 100 mds. or more at any one time. A person should merely sell, purchase or store the foodgrains in question, but that he must be carrying on the business of such purchase, sale, or storage; and the concept of business in the context must necessarily postulate continuity of transactions. It is not a single casual or solitary transaction of sale, purchase or storage that would make a person a dealer, Manipur Administration v. M. Nila Chandra Singh, AIR 1964 SC 1533 (1535). [Manipur Foodgrains Dealers Licensing Order, (1958), Cl. 2(a)]

The supply of medical stores to the Government institutions without any profit motive, on the basis of 'no loss, no profit', and unless it was found that the transactions had been carried on with aver to making a profit the appellant could not be held to be a 'dealer' liable to tax, Government of Medical Store Depot v. State of Haryana, AIR 1986 SC 1902 (1905). [Punjab General Sales Tax Act, (46 of 1948), s. 2(d) (applicable to Haryana)]

A person to be a dealer must be engaged in the business of buying or selling or supplying goods. To be a dealer a person need not follow the

activity of buying, selling and supplying the

same commodity. Mere buying for personal consumption i.e., without a profit motive will not make a person dealer within the meaning of the Act, but a person who consumes a commodity bought by him in the course of his trade, or use in manufacturing another commodity for sale, would be regarded as a dealer, State of Andhra Pradesh v. H. Abdul Bakhi, AIR 1965 SC 531 (532). [Hyderabad General Sales Tax Act, (14 of 1950), s. 2(e)]

If a person carries on the business of buying or selling a commodity it is not necessary that he should sell the same commodity to become a 'dealer' the commodity may be converted into another saleable commodity or it may be used as an ingredient in the manufacture of a commodity. The factories which bought sugarcane could be said to carry on the business of buying and selling sugarcane and the factories are 'dealer', Salar Jung Sugar Mills Ltd v. State of Mysore, AIR 1972 SC 87 (101). [Karnataka Sales Tax Act, (25 of 1957), s. 2(b)]

Dealer in relation to any captive animal, animal article, trophy, uncured trophy, meat or specified plant, means a person, who carries on the business of buying or selling any such animal or article, and includes a person who undertakes business in any single transaction. [Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, s. 2(ii)]

The pawnee who has control or possession over the goods and who was given statutory authority to pass the general property in and title to the goods, is the seller and as such, Karnataka Pawnbrokers' Association v. State of Karanataka, (1998) 7 SCC 707 [General Sales Act]

Means a person who (whether regularly or otherwise) carries on business in U.P. and includes, inter alia a Government which undertakes buying, selling, supplying or distributing goods directly or indirectly for cash or deferred payment or for commission, remuneration or other valuable consideration, State of Uttar Pradesh v. Union of India, (2003) 3 SCC 239.