9911796707
TMI Blog1972 (5) TMI 57X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d that bura is sugar and is not liable to sales tax; that it is not open to the respondent to review the orders of assessment as is sought by him in the aforesaid notices (annexures 19 to 21), nor the respondent is empowered under rule 71 of the Delhi Sales Tax Rules to reassess the turnover of the firm as the petitioner-firm's turnover was neither under-assessed nor escaped assessment; that since bura is not separately mentioned in Schedule I or Schedule III prescribed in section 5(1) of the Act as taxable goods, it is implicit that bura is included in sugar shown as entry No. 9 of the Second Schedule made under section 6 of the Act; that the impugned notices (annexures 19 to 21) are beyond the scope, power, jurisdiction and competence of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing to the assessment year 1967-68, annexure P-3, in the amended writ petition. The petitioners also prayed that the order of the Assistant Sales Tax Commissioner dated 26th May, 1971, annexure P-4, passed in appeal in so far as it imposes the sales tax on bura sugar with effect from 1st January, 1970, be quashed. The respondent in his reply controverted the stand taken by the petitioners contending that bura is not covered under item No. 9 of the Second Schedule appended to the Act and exemption regarding sales tax allowed in the past on the said item was not correct; that the petitioners are bound to pay sales tax on that item. The petitioners filed replication to the reply-affidavit filed by the respondent controverting the stand taken ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es to refer to this court for determination the question of law now sought to be raised by the petitioners. Since the petitioners had not exhausted all the remedies available to them, it was urged they should not be allowed to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court. There is no substance in this submission. The petitioners challenge the jurisdiction of the respondent to impose sales tax. That being so, the writ petition cannot be said to be not maintainable. In State of West Bengal v. North Adjai Coal Co. Ltd.[1971] 27 S.T.C. 268 (S.C.); [1971] S.C.W.R. 133., a contention was raised that the High Court was incompetent to entertain the writ petition because the respondent had failed to exhaust the statutory remedies permissible ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s a shop-keeper to give him sugar, the shop-keeper necessarily gives him crystal sugar and not bura. Conversely, it was submitted that a customer who asks for sugar and if given bura shall not accept it in lieu of the sugar, that is crystal sugar, which he had asked for and intended to buy. It was, therefore, submitted that since the two terms sugar and bura are differently understood in the market, it would not be appropriate to enlarge the scope of the word "sugar" so as to cover bura in the said term. It would be appropriate here to note Ramavatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola[1961] 12 S.T.C. 286 (S.C.). In that case, the question for determination was whether "betel leaves" were vegetable. In that connection it was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 per cent. Thus, according to the said Act, sugar means any form of sugar in which the sucrose content would be more than 90 per cent. According to the said definition, what is important is that sugar in any form having more than 90 per cent sucrose content is sugar. It may be noted here that in appendix B to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, standards relating to sugar and bura prescribed are as follows: "A. 07.01. Cane sugar is the crystallized sugar obtained from sugarcane, beetroot, etc., and includes the refined product obtained from gur. It shall contain not more than 0.8 per cent of ash, not more than 1.5 per cent of water and not less than 96.5 per cent of sucrose. It may contain sulphur dioxide in concentration not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar.................... In the Sugar (Control) Order, 1955, the word sugar as defined in clause (d) of order 2 means (i) any form of sugar containing more than 90 per cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar. From the comparative study of the definition of the word bura, as given in the various Acts and Orders, referred to above, the word "sugar" as defined in those Acts and Orders means any form of sugar containing 90 per cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar and any sugar of crystallizing structure. It is, therefore, apparent that the word "sugar " has been defined and understood not only to mean crystal sugar but ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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