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TMI Blog1972 (11) TMI 66X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the court was delivered by DUA, J. -This appeal by the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Uttar Pradesh, is by special leave and is directed against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court answering the following question in the negative in favour of the respondent (hereinafter called the dealer) and against the Commissioner of Sales Tax, appellant: "Whether the food colour and essence are under the circumstances items to be taxed under section 3-A within the Notification No. ST-905/X dated March 31, 1956." The dealer carries on the business, inter alia, of selling food colours and syrup essences. The dealer also carries on the business of petroleum jelly but we are not concerned with that item in this appeal; nor are we concerned with the sales of imported scents and perfumes which, according to the order of the Sales Tax Officer, were separately shown in the statement filed by the dealer, during the assessment proceedings for the year 1960-61. For the said year the Sales Tax Officer taxed food colours and syrup essences imported by the dealer from outside Uttar Pradesh under section 3-A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 (15 of 1948) (hereinafter called the Act) treating them a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... zette, declare that the turnover in respect of any goods or class of goods shall not be liable to tax except at such single point in the series of sales by successive dealers as the State Government may specify. (2) If the State Government makes a declaration under sub- section (1), it may further declare that the turnover in respect of such goods shall be liable to tax at such rate not exceeding ten naye paise per rupee as may be specified. (3) Every notification made under this section shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution amending or modifying it is passed by the Assembly within the session in which it is laid, it shall, from the date of passing of the resolution, be amended or modified accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done or of any liability incurred or assessment made." On March 31, 1956, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh issued a notification in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3-A of the Act. That notification so far as relevant for our purpose reads: "Notification No. ST-905/X dated March 31, 1956. In exercise of the powers conferred by section ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce is a flavouring material and its function is to add flavour to the food, i.e., to make it more palatable. It appeals to the tongue or to the palate. By scents and perfumes is meant articles of perfumery. In our opinion, therefore, the food colours and essences would not fall in the entries at items Nos. 10 and 37 of the notification aforesaid. In our opinion they could not be taxed under section 3-A but under section 3 of the Act." Shri Manchanda, the learned counsel for the appellant, assailed the reasoning and approach of the High Court. According to him the words "dyes and colours" in entry No. 10 of the List in the notification in question and the words "scents and perfumes" in entry No. 37 of the said List are unqualified and there being no limitation discernible on their plain and general meaning, they must be held to be wide enough to cover "food colours" and "syrup essences". In seeking support for this submission reference was made to the Random House Dictionary of the English language (prepared in U.S.A.) for ascertaining the meanings of the words "colour" (color, as spelt in this dictionary), "dye" and "essence", as also to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vols. 8 and 17, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... from the popular meaning, cannot prevail. The meaning which the trade, Government officials and statutes attribute to the words "artificial silk" was considered by the High Court to be the ordinary and popular meaning of that expression. In Sarin Chemical Laboratory v. Commissioner of Sales Tax [1970] 25 S.T.C. 151 (S.C.)., this court held tooth-powder to be a "toilet requisite" and liable to sales tax at a single point under section 3-A of the Act read with entry No. 6 of the notification, with which we are also concerned in the present case, it being observed that the names of the articles, sales and purchases of which are liable to be taxed, given in a statute, unless defined in the statute, must be construed not in a technical sense but as understood in common parlance. In this decision reference was made to an earlier decision of this court by five Judges in Ramavatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola [1961] 12 S.T.C. 286 (S.C.), in which "betel leaves" were not considered as "vegetable". In Commissioner of Sales Tax, M.P., Indore v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh [1967] 19 S.T.C. 469 (S.C.), the word "coal" was held by this court to include "charcoal", it being ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ether the words and expressions used in entries 10 and 37 of the List are intended to take within their fold goods popularly known in common parlance by the names of "food colours" and "syrup essences". It cannot be gainsaid that "food colours " and "syrup essences" are edible goods whereas "dyes and colours and compositions thereof" and "scents and perfumes" as specified in entries Nos. 10 and 37 of the List do not seem prima facie to connote that they are edible goods. This is the reasoning of the High Court and it appears to us to be both logical and rational. Indeed, except for items like "salt" in entry No. 34, the "sugar manufactured by mills" (entry No. 40) and "vanaspati, including refined coconut oil" (entry No. 43), which is capable of being used as medium for cooking and prima facie edible, there does not seem to be any other edible article included in the List. Item No. 25 speaks of "oils of all kinds other than edible oils manufactured on ghanis by human or animal power". This scheme suggests that, apart from the undoubted edible goods, in cases where the import of the specified goods is wide enough to include both edible and non-edible category then the intention ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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