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TMI Blog1952 (7) TMI 9X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to pay thereon 12 1/2 per cent. tax under the Central Provinces and Berar Sales of Motor Spirit and Lubricants Taxation Act, 1938. He, therefore, started crediting the tax at the aforesaid rate in the Government Treasury at Raipur. On 5th March, 1952, the petitioner received a notice from the District Excise Officer, Raipur, demanding payment from him of the sum of Rs. 7,597-8-0 on account of the tax leviable in respect of the sales made by the petitioner during the years 1948, 1949 and 1950. According to the petitioner he is not liable to pay the amount and that the provisions of the Act of 1938 do not apply to the sale of diesel oil. On behalf of the petitioner the liability of the petitioner was chal- lenged on three grounds. They are: ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eded that diesel oil is ordinarily used for running certain special types of vehicles including motor buses and trucks but he said that that was not sufficient to bring the oil within the definition of "motor spirit". He would have us give the adjective "any" the meaning "each and every". Admitting that the word "any" is capable of being used to mean "no matter what" he says that where, as here, there is an ambiguity the inter- pretation must be made in a manner beneficial to the petitioner as the law in question is a fical statute. In support of his contention that "any" is given the meaning "each and every" in the construction of a provision of a fiscal statute he refers to the decision in the Commissioner of Income- tax, Madras v. Arunac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... If it is interpreted to mean "each and every" then the start- ling result would be that no kind of motor spirit will fall within the defini- tion and would be chargeable under Section 3 to pay any duty under the Act. For, the special type of motor vehicles which ordinarily use "diesel oil" do not ordinarily-and perhaps cannot-use "petrol" (which is the commonest type of motor spirit in use). Since one category of motor vehicles is excluded, "Petrol" must fall outside the definition of "motor spirit". We cannot interpret the word in such a way as it would make nonsense of the whole law. We were told by the learned counsel for the petitioner that though aviation spirit was not formerly included in the definition of "motor spirit" it was tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the first must be deemed to have been repealed by the second. No doubt, under the Act of 1938, as amended by the Act of 1947, a duty of 12½ per cent is leviable on the sale of motor spirit, while, if there were no exemption for motor spirit in Schedule II of the Sales Tax Act, 1947, this commodity would have had to pay a tax of 6 pies in the rupee on its sale. Ignoring the exemption what can be said is that the same commodity is being taxed twice. Though in case of ambiguity the Courts would lean against interpreting statutes in such a way as to render the same thing being taxed twice the learned counsel for the petitioner concedes that it is within the competence of the Legislature to tax the same commodity twice. Here, there is no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... com- modities meant to be exempted does not, in our view, merit consideration on account of the wording of the entry itself. There is thus nothing from which we could infer any intention on the part of the Legislature to repeal the Act of 1938 but on the contrary, it is beyond doubt that the Legisla- ture intended to keep that Act alive. The Legislature has done all that is necessary to effectuate that intention. It is therefore unnecessary to con- sider the authorities cited by the learned counsel to show that a statute can be repealed by implication. We are satisfied that the petitioner is liable to pay the tax as found due under the Act of 1938 but is entitled to be given credit in respect of the tax paid by him under the Sales Tax Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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