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TMI Blog1989 (8) TMI 333X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hrough various equipments; and its preservation for endless years. 4.. The petitioner was assessed for the periods 1981-82 and 1982-83. According to the petitioner, the rate of tax was excessive and erroneous. Appeals were filed. The appellate authority who heard the cases and the Word in Malayalam script is transliterated here. long arguments as is referred to in that order, thought it better not to trouble himself with the mental exercises necessary for an exhaustive examination of the legal contentions. It was easy to make a remand. That he did under exhibit P4 order. 5.. The fight in the assessing arena continued. Added might was furnished by additional objections raised. They were, however, of no avail, when the assessing authori ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the above terms, one cannot ordinarily expect from the Appellate Assistant Commissioner a view contrary to the one contained in the clarification. 8.. The petitioner therefore approached this Court to quash exhibit P15 and for a declaration that the cassettes are not liable to be assessed under entry 155 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act as it stood during the relevant time. 9.. The writ petition merits examination only in relation to this general question and having regard to the rigid stand now taken on behalf of the State and its functionaries. 10.. Some basic scientific events and inventions may be briefly referred to, to understand the vexed tax problem involved in the case. 11.. There was a time when administrators were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ersation, as evidence (vide R v. Maqsud Ali [1965] 2 All ER 464 and Nixon v. Richey 168 US App DC 169). A special law was brought by American CongressPresidential Records and Materials Preservation Act, Public Law 93-526 in the wake of the "Water Gate". The constitutional validity of the Act was upheld by the Supreme Court of America in Nixon v. Administrator of General Services 433 US 425. Yet another decision of that court dealing with the commercial exploitation of the Presidential tapes is Richard Nixon v. Warner Communications, INC. 435 US 589; 55 L Ed 2d 570. Tapes have been discussed in the context of the Law of Evidence by Cross on Evidence, 5th Edition, pages 13-14. Two other decisions touching that aspect are Owners of Motorship S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion to the taxing operation may now be considered. 16.. It is not necessary to trace all the sales tax laws and the entry regarding gramophone in the Schedules thereunder. It is sufficient if we start from the time the Travancore-Cochin State was formed. 17.. It will be seen that even in 1949, there was an entry "radio gramophones" as covered by section 3(2) of the General Sales Tax Act, 1125. The tax burden was somewhat light; only three paise in the rupee. Radio gramophones and component parts of radio gramophones came under entry 8 when the Act stood amended by Act 21 of 1958. The 1963 enactment also contained the entry relating to "gramophones" the component parts thereof and records under entry 10 of the First Schedule. In other w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... res that they shall include. It gives an extended statutory meaning to the word defined which is in addition to its ordinary popular and natural sense. If this meaning is accepted for purposes of classifying the present entry there is nothing wrong in finding that the record players and cassettes are sound recording and reproducing equipments falling under entry 152 of the First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act. It may also be noted that some times the word 'include' is used by the Legislature not to extend the meaning of a word but to give an exhaustive meaning of the word by way of clarification [1977] 40 STC 57 (All.) (Commissioner, Sales Tax v. Chawla Stores). If this view is to be followed it can be safely held that sound r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ue, which relied on Shyam Co. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax [1980] 45 STC 167 (All.), also does not appear to have carefully looked into the facts of the case or the reasoning. The decision in [1980] 45 STC 167 (All.) (Shyam Co. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax), assumed that record players, and records fall within the category of the entry "gramophones and component parts thereof and records". This assumption is of no avail in the determination of a complex tax question. That aspect of the matter should have occurred to the Board which has a tradition of expertise in such matters. The Board should have addressed itself to the history of the legislation and the scientific information in relation to the articles. The ill-informed and incorrec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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