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TMI Blog1973 (6) TMI 51X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oper construction of item No. 2 in Notification No. STGL-11687 F.T. dated the 27th August, 1959, all or any of the articles, namely, blank registers, exercise books, letter-pads, labels, loose printed forms, envelopes, cards, flat files are 'paper' and as such exempt from payment of special sales tax?" The assessee is a press carrying on business under the name and style of Minerva Printing Works. It deals in printing and selling of printed articles and stationeries. The assessee returned a gross turnover of Rs. 3,37,417 and claimed various exemptions to the tune of Rs. 2,75,585. Exemption to the tune of Rs. 29,526 was allowed, but the assessee's claim of exemption from taxation on the turnover on account of sale of articles, such as blan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aning of item 18 of Schedule III of the notification dated 1st July, 1959. 2.. There is a direct decision of the Allahabad High Court on the point at issue in the case of Industrial and Commercial Service, Allahabad v. Commissioner of Sales Tax[1963] 14 S.T.C. 299. On a consideration of the meaning of the words "book" and "diary" given in three of the standard dictionaries, Desai, C.J., gave a restricted meaning to the word "books" given in section 4 of the Act which was under consideration in that case. The learned Chief justice further said that exercise books are books according to the wider meaning, but the State Government by including exercise books in the notification interpreted the word in a restricted sense so as not to include ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ibunal in this regard is correct and the first question of law referred to this court must be answered in favour of the Commercial Taxes Department and against the assessee. 3.. The second question is concerned with Notification No. STGL(MPT) PT2/59-11687 F.T. dated 27th August, 1959. This was a notification issued by the Governor of Bihar in exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to section 5 of the Act. It provides that special sales tax leviable under the Act on the sale of goods specified in the second column of the schedule annexed to the notification shall be levied at the stage specified in the third column of the said schedule subject to the conditions and restrictions set out in the fourth column thereof. Item 2 of the s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d flat files, which it had prepared from the papers purchased by it from the dealer; in other words, whether these articles were different within the meaning of the notification attracting the incidence of taxation at the point of sale by the manufacturer, namely, the assessee. The Tribunal's view seems to be that the special sales tax paid by the assessee on paper was in accordance with clause (a) mentioned in the third column and since from the paper purchased by it from the dealer it manufactured other articles, therefore, it is liable to pay special sales tax within the meaning of clause (b). The question is whether this view is correct in law. 4.. The Tribunal seems to be of the opinion that the various articles enumerated in the sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lumn 2 of the schedule annexed to the notification. 5.. Learned Advocate-General, who appeared for the assessee, has cited before us a decision of the Gujarat High Court in Vaiswaner Trading Co. v. The State of Gujarat[1964] 15 S.T.C. 586. and a decision of the Supreme Court in State of Madhya Bharat v. Hiralal[1966] 17 S.T.C. 313 (S.C.). In this case, however, I do not think it advisable to go into the question as to whether exercise books, envelopes, letter-pads, blank registers, etc., could be characterised as paper in the light of the principle of law laid down in the two cases referred to above. Here, on a plain reading of the language of the notification in column 2 it is clear that all these articles have been included in the word ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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