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TMI Blog1956 (7) TMI 35X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... "As regards the position of split mica it has to be remembered that there is practically no market for crude mica. All the mica that is ex- ported is split mica so that the conclusion is irresistible that the split- ting of mica is an essential process for making the commodity market- able. On due consideration of the matter, I am of opinion that the splitting of mica does not constitute a process of manufacture, the constitution of the mica remaining just the same, there being only a change in the dimension, particularly in thickness, of individual pieces. As mining of mica cannot be regarded as a process of manufacture, I may mention that the despatch of split mica outside Bihar cannot be taxed under section 2(g) of the amended Act." Thereafter the Commissioner of Sales Tax filed an application under section 25(1) of the Act on behalf of the State of Bihar for making a reference to the High Court on the question of law involved. Accordingly, the Board of Revenue has stated a case on the following question of law for the opinion of the High Court: "Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case the process of mining mica involves the production or manufacture of goods within ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... anifest that the provisions of section 25(1) have been strictly complied with because the Commissioner of Sales Tax has actually signed the application and the name "State of Bihar " at the top of the petition is a superfluity and may be ignored. The principle of the decision in Miscellaneous judicial Case No. 574 of 1953 has no application to this case. The material facts of that case were different. In that case a petition under section 25(1) was signed by the Commissioner of Sales Tax, but it was rejected by the Board of Revenue. Thereafter the State of Bihar made an application under section 25(2) to the High Court against the refusal of the Board of Revenue to state a case. The application to the High Court under section 25(2) was not signed by the Commissioner of Sales Tax; it was signed, on the other hand, by one Ramanugrah Narain, Head Assistant of the Bihar Secre- tariat, and the application was filed on behalf of the State of Bihar. In the present case the material facts are different and I hold that there has been no breach of the provisions of section 25(1) and the reference made by the Board of Revenue is legally competent. I shall then proceed to consider the questi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ression "manufacture" in the con- text or the subjecta materies of the Act. That is, I think, the correct approach in the matter of construction. The starting point is the title of the Act, "An Act providing for the levy of a tax on the sales of goods in Bihar". I shall then refer to section 2(e) which defines a "dealer" to mean "any person who sells or supplies any goods (including goods sold or supplied in the execution of a contract) whether for com- mission, remuneration or otherwise". Section 2(d) defines "goods" to mean "all kinds of movable property other than actionable claims, stocks, shares or securities, and includes all materials.........used in the construction, fitting out, improvement or repair of immovable property". If the language of section 2(g) is construed in the context of the other provisions of the Act, particularly section 2(c) and section 2(d), it is clear that the manufacture of goods referred to in section 2(g) must be the manufacture of goods for the purpose of sale in the course of the dealer's business. "To manufacture" in this context must mean "to bring into being something in a form in which it will be capable of being sold or supplied, in the cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ticular use for which it is intended and capable of being sold or (1) [1946] 1 S.T.C. 157. supplied for a price. When a man goes into a chemist's shop with a prescription he does not ask for this, that or the other drug mentioned in the prescription, but he really wants the finished product in a form in which as a medicine it will be suitable for the use of the patient and when the chemist compounds the drugs according to the prescription he produces that medicine and sells, not so many different drugs of different quantities or measures, but the finished product. The selling of the finished product is his business and he brings it into being for sale in his business." On behalf of the assessee Mr. Dutt relied upon three cases, Christie v. Davies(1), Commissioners of Inland Revenue v. Williamson Brothers(2) and Commissioner of Income-tax, Madras v. Diwan Bahadur S.L. Mathias(3). But I do not think that the ratio of any of these cases has any bearing on the question presented for determination in the present case. In Christie v. Davies(1) the question at issue was whether the appellant should be assessed to income-tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of his profits as a timbe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent. It is admitted in the present case that the assessee carried on mica mining operations, and the crude mica which was taken out of the mine was sorted and processed into split mica which is a commercial commodity. It is also admitted that the crude mica was split into thinner plates and cut into commercial sizes. There is a more detailed description of the process given by the Mica Enquiry Committee 1944-45 in their report. At page 6 of the report the Committee state: "Mica is found imbedded in the pegmatite vein in the form of what are known as 'books' of mica. These are crystals of mica and comprise the mineral in its crude form. They may vary in size from a few cubic inches to big blocks, measuring two to three hundred square inches in the plane of the laminations and one foot or more across it. For preliminary treatment, the books are rifted into slabs, varying from eight to thirty mils in thickness and the worst flaws are then cut away. This work is usually done with sickles and the mica at this stage is described as sickle dressed block, or more shortly as S.D.B. Of recent years, small dealers and some of the bigger producers are using knives for the initial cutting befor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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