Report No. 30

81. Mohideen Thumby case.-In Mohideen Thumby & Co. v. State of Madras, AIR 1962 Mad 323, the law on the export sale was laid down as follows:-

"An export sale is one which is effected between a seller in the State and a buyer abroad outside the Indian territory. The foundation of such a sale is the contract between the two in respect of goods or merchandise forming the subject-matter of the sale. The contract can be entered into directly between the seller and the buyer or it can be brought about by their respective agents duly authorised in that behalf. It is impossible to conceive of an export sale without the essential element of a privity of contract between the two contracting parties.

The absence of a contract either in the form of actual agreement signed by the seller and the buyer or their respective agents, or in the form of letters between the buyer and the seller evidencing the term of agreement is definitely fatal to any claim that any sale transaction by a local dealer is an export sale hit by the provisions of Article 286(1)(b) of the Constitution.".