9911796707
TMI Blog1966 (12) TMI 56X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s a chemical within the meaning of item No. 7 of the aforesaid notification issued under the powers conferred by section 3-A of the Act. The item reads: "Chemicals of all kinds." The assessing authority and the judge (Appeals) considered sodium silicate (water glass) to be a chemical and therefore falling within the mischief of item No. 7 of the said notification. The Judge (Revisions), however, took the view that sodium silicate though in its widest connotation might be a chemical yet when considered by the use to which it is put in India, which according to him, was only as a filler in the manufacture of soap, it cannot be treated as a chemical. Further, it was held, that sodium silicate is not a chemical compound but only a mixture. Henc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion where silica is heated with sodium hydroxide or by fusing sand with sodium carbonate. As regards its uses, it is stated. "It has many commercial uses, such as fire-proofing and water-proofing of textiles and timbers, as a filler in cheap soaps, and as an adhesive in the manufacture of cardboard shopping cases." In Molinari's "Inorganic Chemistry", Volume I, second edition, page 606, the following uses are given: "Soluble glass is used to render objects impregnated with it resistant to fire. It is used as adhesive for glass, porcelain, stone etc. It is much employed for adulterating (wading) soap..." In Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, Volume X, the, uses of "sodium silicate" given are: "Sodium silicates have a wide variety ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it is clear, that "sodium silicate" occupies by no means an unimportant or insignificant part of inorganic chemistry. Prima facie, therefore, it is not possible to say that sodium. silicate is not a chemical. Reliance was, however, placed by the learned counsel for the assessee on the definition of the word "chemical" from Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, Grant Third Edition, where "chemical" has been defined as "(1) pertaining to chemistry and (2) a substance of definite and known composition." As the formula varies with the amount of silica it was contended that sodium silicate is not a substance of definite and known composition and therefore not a chemical. There Is no force in this contention. The mere fact that there may be various comp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the mistaken notion of the judge (Revisions) that water glass or sodium silicate in India is only used in the manufacture of soap and for no other purpose. The uses given in the various text-books and the Encyclopaedia referred to above clearly show that its uses are diverse and not restricted to its use as a filler in the manufacture of soap. Be that as it may, in the case of an ordinary soap manufacturer who just goes into the market and buys water glass without knowing its chemical composition, it might be possible to say that such a person is not buying a chemical but in the case of the assessee who actually manufactures sodium silicate and calls itself "Banaras Chemicals" it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to say that it is not a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
