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TMI Blog1972 (9) TMI 135X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -61 and Rs. 252 for the year 1962-63 under section 12(3) of the Act on the ground that the assessee had not submitted his turnover for the years in question. The assessee went in appeal, and the appellate authority affirmed the assessment on the turnovers in question for the two years but reduced the penalty from Rs. 270 to Rs. 135 for the assessment year 1960-61 and from Rs. 252 to Rs. 126 for the assessment year 1962-63. There were further appeals to the Tribunal, and the Tribunal had taken the view that industrial diamond will not fall within item 30 of Schedule I to the Act and that it will be assessable only at multi-point at the rate of 2 per cent. under section 3(1) of the Act. In that view it set aside the assessments as the turno ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of value and beauty used for ornaments and it is only such diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires, which are gems of value and beauty that will come under the definition of "precious stone" referred to in item 30 to Schedule I. It is not disputed that industrial diamonds are never used for ornaments and that they are fitted in tools and implements used for cutting and drilling, etc. It is neither a stone of such value and beauty as could be used for ornamentation, nor can it be called a gem or a jewel. The price of industrial diamond ranges only between Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 per carat while diamond as a precious stone would cost from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 3,000. According to the revenue, industrial diamond is also a diamond and would fall w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ds, rubies, pearls, etc.," have been used show that it is only precious stones which are used for the purpose of ornamentation that will come under that item. A precious stone is normally a gem stone noted for its rarity, beauty, lustre, hardness and high value. Diamond is a mineral compound solely of carbon and it is the hardest of all known substances. Its optical properties give it a beauty that makes it desirable as a gem. Industrial diamond is a by-product of gem industry and somewhat of low grade diamond without the requisite optical properties so as to make it a gem. Though the most distinctive characteristic of diamond is hardness and its hardness makes it valuable as an industrial tool, it has not the other properties of a gem ston ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .C. 469 (S.C.)., Sarin Chemical Laboratory v. Commissioner of Sales Tax[1970] 26 S.T.C. 339 (S.C.). and Deputy Commissioner (S.T.) v. Akbar Alikhan and Abdul Ruheem Co.[1971] 27 S.T.C 167., in support of his contention that in a taxing statute the popular meaning or the commercial understanding of the words should prevail in spite of the technical meaning that the words might secure by the application of the principles of geology, physics and chemistry. But in this case, the popular and commercial meaning given to the word "diamond" will not, in our view, take in industrial diamond, for the word "diamond" is normally attributed in the commercial circles to that used as a gem stone in an ornament. Normally when we go to a jeweller and ask ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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