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TMI Blog1974 (9) TMI 91X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ered dealer under Cuttack-1 (West) Circle with the Registration Certificate No. CU. I(W) 143 under the Orissa Sales Tax Act. He carries on business in silver and gold ornaments, weights and measures and filigrees. The controversy relates to the assessment year 1969-70 during which the assessing officer found that the assessee had effected sales of ornaments decorated with filigree works and had paid tax at the rate of 2 per cent in terms of serial No. 1 of the Finance Department, Notification No. 33927-C.T.A. 130/57-F dated 30th December, 1957. The assessee claimed that his goods were liable to be taxed under this serial whereas the sales tax department claimed that he was liable to be taxed under serial No. 32 of the notification. Section ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eby fix, with effect from the 1st January, 1958, the rate of tax payable by a dealer under the said Act on account of the sale of the goods specified in column (2) of the schedule appended hereto at the rates specified against them in column (3) thereof. SCHEDULE Sl. No. Description of goods. Rate of tax. 1. "1. Bullion and specie One per cent. 2. 27. All articles and wares made of gold and silver or of species. Seven per cent. 3. 32. Ornamental metal-ware with enamelled or carved designs Seven per cent." and gold and silver filigree. The aforesaid schedule was amended by Government Notification No. 35550-C.T.A. 27/58-F. dated 15t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to tax either under serial No. 27 or under serial No. 32 of the schedule under the first notification dated 30th December, 1957, extracted above. Ornaments would not be obviously covered under serial No. 1 which refers to "bullion and specie" only. Under the second notification dated 15th November, 1958, the schedule was amended and serial No. 3-F was introduced which specifically referred to ornaments of personal wear made of gold and correspondingly serial Nos. 27 and 32 were also amended by adding the expression "other than those falling under serial No. 3-F' at the end of those respective entries. Thus ornaments of personal wear made of gold or silver were made a special category for purposes of taxation and it was made clear thereby th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ime of the relevant assessment year, it is obvious that ornaments of personal wear made of gold were excluded from its purview and were included in serial No. 1 as would be indicated by simultaneous deletion of serial No. 3-F, amendment of serial No. 1 and retention of the words "other than those falling under serial No. 3-F" in serial Nos. 27 and 32. The learned standing counsel for the department contended that the notification by which serial No. 3-F was deleted, inadvertently omitted to carry out consequential amendment in serial No. 32. In fact, subsequent to the year of assessment in question, by Notification No. 19930 dated 27th April, 1970, serial No. 32 was amended by excluding the expression "other than those falling under serial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as that ornaments of personal wear made of gold and silver were excluded from the purview of serial No. 32. 4.. The learned standing counsel for the department contends that since the ornaments were decorated with filigree works, it satisfies the description in column (2) against serial No. 32, which speaks of ornamental metal-ware with enamelled or carved designs and gold and silver filigrees. Serial No. 1 as amended during the relevant assessment year referred to bullion and specie ornaments and other articles made thereof. The question is whether the ornaments decorated with filigree works would come within the purview of serial No. 1 or serial No. 32. The principle in construing taxing statutes is that it must be strictly construed an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al wear, was deleted, serial No. 1 was correspondingly amended so as to include bullion ornaments. The description was large enough to include ornaments of all types and designs. Whether the ornaments are decorated with filigree works or not, the basic character of such articles is an ornament for personal wear. The test to apply in such cases is what the common man conversant with the expression "ornament" would attribute to an ornament which is decorated with filigree work. Would he, when goes for purchasing ornaments, accept the ornament decorated with filigree work as a filigree work simpliciter or basically as an ornament? As is well-known, ornaments are manufactured in various designs principally intended to be worn by the ladies. Emb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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