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TMI Blog2001 (2) TMI 893X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... JJ. Pradeep Misra, Advocate, for the respondents. Sudhir Chandra, Senior Advocate (A.P. Sinha, Achintya Dwivedi, P. Niroop and Ms. Nandini Gore, Advocates, with him), for the appellants. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by S.N. VARIAVA, J.- This appeal is against a judgment dated July 10, 1996. By this judgment a number of writ petitions filed before the Allahabad High Court have been dismissed. 2. The petitioners in all the writ petitions were doing the business of preparing tanned and finished leather. The question involved in all the four petitions was whether "tanned leather" can be subjected to Uttar Pradesh mandi fee payable under the provisions of the U.P. Krishi Utpadan Mandi Adhiniyam, 1964 (hereinafter for the sake of convenience called, "the said Act"). 3.. For an understanding of this question it is necessary to see section 2(a) of the said Act which reads as follows: "'Agricultural produce' means such items of produce of agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, apiculture, sericulture, pisciculture, animal husbandry or forest as are specified in the Schedule, and includes admixture ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s in tanned condition. It was contended that hides and skins whether tanned or untanned constituted one commodity and, therefore, there could be no tax on sales of hides and skins in raw condition when there was no tax on sale of hides and skins in tanned condition. It was held that they were two different commodities and constituted two separate categories for purposes of taxation. It was so held because the two were treated differently in the Rules. 7.. Reliance was also placed upon the authority in the case of K.A.K. Anwar Co. v. State of Tamil Nadu reported in [1998] 108 STC 258 (SC); (1998) 1 SCC 437. This again was a case under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. The question here was whether raw hides and skins and dressed hides and skins were different commodities. The court following the decision in A. Hajee Abdul Shukoor and Co. [1964] 15 STC 719 (SC); [1964] 8 SCR 217, held that dressed hides and skins were different goods from raw hides and skins. It may be noted that it was so held in the context of the definition as given in item 7 of the Second Schedule of the said Act, which provided both for raw hides and skins as well as dressed hides and skins. Thus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... entry 15 of Schedule I to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977. The relevant entry under which the industry was sought to be brought in was item 15 of Schedule I which reads as "processing of animal or vegetable products industry". This Court held, in paragraph 13, that the term "processing" as normally understood would mean that even after processing the product would retain its character. The court held that "processing" essentially effectuates a change in form, contour, physical appearance or chemical combination or otherwise by artificial or natural means. The court held that a "manufacture" implies a change but that every change was not "manufacture". The court held that for "manufacture" something more was necessary and that there must be a transformation and a new and distinct article must emerge having a distinctive name, character or use. Based on this authority it was submitted that tanned leather was a different article and a distinctive commodity having a distinctive name, character and use and that tanned leather was a manufactured item. In our view the authority would, if anything be against the appellants. Tanned leather retains its basic c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dmits that if there was a conflict between an Hindi version and an English version then by virtue of article 384 of the Constitution of India the English version would prevail. He submits that if there is no conflict, then the Hindi version can be looked at in order to determine any ambiguity or to find out if any item is included or not. 14.. In support of his submission he relies upon the case of Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti, Kanpur v. Ganga Dal Mill and Co. reported in [1985] 58 STC 23 (SC); (1984) 4 SCC 516. This was a case under the said Act. The question was whether "dal" of legume is an agricultural produce and therefore eligible to market fee. In that case it had been argued, as in the present case, that as "dal" has not been specified in the Schedule and it was a distinct commodity no market fee could be levied. This Court held that to resolve a controversy of this nature one has to seek light from the definition of expression "agricultural produce" as set out in section 2(a) of the Act. This Court held that no resort can be taken to decisions under entirely different statutes, such as the sales tax laws, to find out whether the product were same or two different and in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d when the agricultural produce enumerated in the Schedule such as gram including its processed part is reproduced in the notification as Dwi daliya utpadan, the dal of each of the legumes therein mentioned became specified agricultural produce." It is thus to be seen that the court derived support for its conclusion by looking at the Hindi version of the said Act on the ground that it was well-known that in the State of U.P. enactments were in Hindi language. 15.. Reliance was also placed upon the case of Rathi Khandsari Udyog v. State of Uttar Pradesh reported in (1985) 2 SCC 485. This was also a case under the said Act. The question before the court was whether "khandsari sugar" manufactured by an open pan process was an agricultural produce within the meaning of the said Act. In this case also based upon a Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 and U.P. Khandsari Sugar Manufacturer's Licensing Order, 1967, both of which define "khandsari sugar", it had been contended that "khandsari sugar" was a distinct and a separate commodity from "khandsari" as defined in section 2(a) of the said Act and, therefore, no market fee could be levied on "khandsari sugar". This contention was ne ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... could be levied on those commodities. This Court held that a wide interpretation had to be given to section 2(a) of the said Act as the meaning was exhaustive and not restricted to the items included in the Schedule. It was held that items which came into being in a processed form would be included. It was held that these items were "agricultural produce" and market fee could be levied on these items. 17.. Mr. Pradeep Misra then relied upon the case of State of Tamil Nadu v. Mahi Traders reported in [1989] 73 STC 228 (SC); (1989) 1 SCC 724. He clarified that this was a case under the Central Sales Tax Act and that he was not saying that this would therefore be an authority for considering the definition of the term "agricultural produce" under the said Act. He submitted that in this case certain opinions of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as glossary of terms published by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research had been reproduced. He stated that he was merely bringing those portions of the judgment to the attention of the court. In this behalf he showed to the court the paragraphs 6, 9, 10, 11 and 13 (pages 233, 234, 235 and 236 of STC), which read as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ufacture of 'finished leather' but 'dressing' is not one of them. A glossary of terms relating to hides, skins and leather published by the ISI in 1960 contains the following definitions: Crusts: (Crust leather)-Tanned hides and skins without any finish. Currying: A series of dressing and finishing processes applied to leather after tanning in the course of which appropriate amounts of oils and greases are incorporated in the leather to give it increased tensile strength, flexibility and water resisting properties. Dressed hides: Tanned hides, curried or otherwise finished, for various purposes, such as belting, harness and saddlery, travel goods and for upholstery. Dressing leather: Vegetable tanned hides which may be dressed to suit the purpose for which they are to be used, such as for harness, saddlery and other mechanical purposes. Leather: The skin or hide of animals prepared by tanning, which still retains its original fibrous structure more or less intact, but from which hair or wool may or may not have been removed and which has been treated so as to be imputrescible even after treatment with water. 10.. The earlier glossary of such terms published by t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to leather by tanning. The operations involved in leather manufacture however fall into three groups. Pre-tanning operations include soaking, liming, deliming, bating and pickling, and post-tanning operations are splitting and shaving, neutralising, bleaching, dyeing, fat-liquoring and stuffing, setting out, samming, drying, staking and finishing. These operations bring about chemical changes in the leather substance and influence the physical characteristics of the leather, and different varieties of commercial leather are obtained by suitably adjusting the manufacturing operations. These processes need not be gone into in detail but the passages relied upon clearly show that hides and skins are termed 'leather' even as soon as the process of tanning is over and the danger of their putrefaction is put an end to. The entry in the Central Sales Tax Act, however, includes within its scope hides and skins until they are 'dressed'. This, as we have seen, represents the stage when they undergo the process of finishing and assume a form in which they can be readily utilised for manufacture of various commercial articles. In this view, it is hardly material that coloured leather may be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... we are not required to go into these differences as, in our view, it is very clear, from what has been set out by the appellants themselves in their affidavit that for hide and skin to be converted into leather or tanned leather all that is required is a process. It is a process of cleaning, curing and adding preservatives. That it is a process has been held by this Court in the case of State of Tamil Nadu v. Mahi Traders [1989] 73 STC 228; (1989) 1 SCC 724. We are also of the view that the finished product, i.e., "tanned leather", even though it may have changed in physical appearance or chemical combination and even though it may commercially be a different item, still remains a "hide" or a "skin". 21.. For this reason we are of the opinion that there is no illegality or infirmity in the judgment of the High Court. 22.. Even otherwise our above view is supported by the Hindi version of the definition. As has been set out in the case of Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti (1993) Supp 3 SCC 361(II), it is well-known in U.P. all legislations are in Hindi. Of course an English version simultaneously published. Undoubtedly if there is conflict between the two then the English version wou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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