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TMI Blog1956 (5) TMI 30X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nover from sales of puris and upheld the order of the Superintendent of Taxes in regard to the rest of the claim. On revision, the Commissioner of Taxes declined to interfere with the order of the Assistant Commissioner, though he agreed to refer two questions to this Court for decision on a petition under section 32. The questions are as follows: "(1) Whether nimkis and singaras are forms of bread, and their sales are exempt from taxation under the Assam Sales Tax Act, 1947, inasmuch as the sale of bread is exempt from taxation under the Act? (2) Whether the sale of sweets, which are prepared form milk, flour and sugar, are exempt from taxation inasmuch as the sales of milk, flour and sugar are exempt from taxation under the Act?" The Member of the Board of Sales Tax has expressed the opinion that both the questions should be answered in the negative. He was of the opinion that nimkis and singaras are not within the ambit of the expression "bread" as used in Schedule III of the Sales Tax Act. He also was unable to agree that sweets and milk products are exempt on the ground urged on behalf of the assessees. Mr. Ahmed, the learned counsel for the assessees, has argued that singar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f item No. 4 of the schedule without extending the meaning of the expression given in the standard dictionary referred to above. In Kayani and Co. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax[1953] 4 S.T.C. 387; A.I.R. 1953 Hyd. 252., on which Mr. Ahmed has relied in support of his contention, it was held that the term "bread" includes all forms of bread which are prepared by moistening, kneading, baking, frying or roasting meal or flour, with or without the addition of yeast, leaven or any other substance for puffing or lightening the article. Shirmal and tanure-ki-roti were held to be different names of roti and were exempted from the levy. The learned Judges observed that "when the Legislature uses a term relating to any article of food, we must construe it in the sense in which it is understood in this country, and not elsewhere." In their view, the intention of the Legislature was to include all kinds of bread which are consumed by the citizens of India, though prepared in different ways or called by different names. They gave the expression "bread" occurring in the Hyderabad General Sales Tax Act of 1950 a much wider meaning than its dictionary sense would justify. They have included two p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... kinds of bread which are prepared by moistening, kneading, baking, frying or roasting meal or flour with or without the addition of yeast, leaven or any other substance for puffing or lightening the articles. Mr. Ahmed urges that frying is a way of preparing bread, and nimki is no more than fried flour. The same process of frying, according to him, is employed in preparing singaras. The argument overlooks the fact that whilst the different processes of preparing bread stated by the learned Judges include frying, the expression "bread" was applied only to different forms or kinds of bread prepared in India. The question, therefore, is whether nimkis and singaras are regarded or used as bread in any part of India. These are salted snacks; they are served as articles of luxury. They usually do not form part of the principal meals; no one ever describes them as bread. No one would get singaras and nimkis if he asks for bread or roti. Conversely, there is no likelihood of any one getting roti or chapathi or parata or bread in any form if he asks for singaras of nimkis. Singaras and nimkis are articles of food, but they are a class apart. It should not be overlooked that singaras and nim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ice in Kapildeoram Baijnath Prosad v. J.K. Das[1954] 5 S.T.C. 365., and also to cooked rice, dal, fish, meat, vegetables and dahi in Bhakti Bhusan Goswami v. J.C. Goswami(1), disposed of on 30th March, 1954. He regarded these articles of food as retaining their form even though they were cooked. We are not dealing with any of the foodstuffs to which reference has been made by the learned Chief Justice in his two judgments. The observations in Kapildeoram Baijnath Prosad v. J.K. Das(2), about cooked rice were obiter. The decision in Bhakti Bhusan Goswami v. J.C. Goswami(1) is distinguishable on facts; the foodstuffs we are dealing with are different from those in that case. No opinion was expressed in that case about singaras or nimkis, nor would they fall within the scope of the rule as stated by the learned Chief Justice. A decision is an authority and is valuable as a precedent only on the facts on which it is based, and facts of the cases relied on being different, they are of no avail to the assessees. Singaras and nimkis, in my opinion, are not covered by any item of Schedule III. So far as sweets are concerned, the contention of Mr. Ahmed is that as sweets are prepared form m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ut it is suggested that they contain articles on which sales tax is due. We have perforce to use our own knowledge as to what those things are and how they are prepared. Both these articles contain flour and they are fried in ghee, vegetable oil or some other oily substance. The singara is stuffed with potato, vegetable or the like, and both these articles are salted. The stuffed articles might contain a little of pepper and spice. Section 7 of the Act says that "subject to the conditions and exceptions, if any, set out in Schedule III attached to this Act, the sale of goods specified therein shall be exempt form taxation under this Act." Item 4 of the said Schedule III is "bread". The bread is, therefore, exempt from taxation-whether we may call nimkis and singaras bread in the sense in which it has been used in Schedule III. The learned Member of the Board of Sales Tax, Assam, has given the dictionary meaning of the word "bread" as food made out of flour or meal baked. He further states that "bread" connotes a staple food for the subsistence of human beings,-as we find in the expression "Men do not live by bread alone". According to the learned Member of the Board, neither singar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e included in the list of bread as shirmal, a bread-like preparation of milk, flour and sweet, was included in the list of bread by the Hyderabad High Court. Kapildeoram Baijnath Prosad v. J.K. Das [1954] 5 S.T.C. 365. was a decision of this Court by a Division Bench, which held that chira and muri are exempt from tax, in the opinion of Sarjoo Prosad, C.J., they being forms of rice, and in the opinion of Ram Labhaya, J., they being cereals. The Chief Justice also observes at one place in the said judgment that "chira and muri, to all intents and purposes, are cereals, and have not lost their character of cereals by any process of transformation so as to make us call them by any other name". In the said judgment, his Lordship observes at another place that "if cereal or rice has been so mixed up with other ingredients or so transformed as not to be reasonably called by that name, the position would be undoubtedly different." These lines are useful in the matter of our coming to a finding in this case. Ram Labhaya, J., observes that if the expression "cereal" is used in a broad and comprehensive sense, in which it would include readily edible food, which has been prepared by merely ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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