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TMI Blog2011 (4) TMI 77X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nless steel wire, a product of the appellant, on a proper reading of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act along with the qualifying words 'that is to say' would fall under the category "tools, alloy and special steels of any of the above categories" enumerated in entry no (ix) of clause (iv) or under entry no (xv) of same clause (iv)" 3. In all these appeals identical issues are involved. We therefore, proceed to dispose of all these appeals by this common Judgment and Order. In order to arrive at a finding on the issue raised, it will be necessary to set out certain facts leading to filing of the present appeals. 4. The appellant is a Public Limited Company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the business of manufacture and sales of "stainless steel wires". An assessment order was passed under Rule 41(8) of the UP Trade Tax Rules for the assessment year 1999-2000 under the UP Trade Tax Act, 1948 (for short "the UP Act") as well as under the Central Act. As per the said assessment order, the tax on sales of "stainless steel wire" was levied @ 4% and sales covered by Form 3-kh were taxed @ 2%. 5. The respondent, however, thereafter held that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (ix) and, therefore, does not fall under "Iron and Steel" as defined under clause (iv) of section 14 of the Central Act and therefore the provision of section 15 of the Central Act does not apply. 12. Being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 21.5.2010 passed by the Allahabad High Court, the present appeals were filed by the appellants on which we heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties. 13. The learned counsel appearing for the parties during the course of their submissions relied upon various notifications, some of which are required to be extracted at this stage. 14. The first reference that was made was to the notification dated 26.10.1991. The aforesaid notification was issued by respondent No. 1 in exercise of powers under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 3-A of the U.P. Act, whereby under Item 7, Sheets and Circles made wholly or principally of stainless steel and all remaining articles (excluding wares and surgical instruments) made wholly or principally of stainless steel were taxable @ 12%. The relevant part of the said notification is extracted hereinbelow: "S. No. Description of goods Point of tax Rate of tax (a) Shee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ds, bottom, plates, iron scrap, caste iron scrap, runner scrap and iron skull scrap; (ii) steel semis (ingots, slabs, blooms and billets of all qualities, shapes and sizes); (iii) skull bars, tin bars, sheet bars, hoe-bars and sleeper bars; (iv) steel bars (rounds, rods, squares, flats, octagons and hexagons, plain and ribbed or twisted, in coil form as well as straight lengths); (v) Steel structural (angels, joists, channels, tees, sheet piling sections, Z sections or any other rolled sections); (vi) sheets, hoops, stripe and skelp, both black and galvanized, hot and cold rolled, plain and corrugated, in all qualities, in straight lengths and in coil form, as rolled and in riveted condition; (vii) plates both plain and chequered in all qualities; (viii)discs, rings, forgings, and steel castings; (ix) tool, alloy and special steels of any of the above categories; (x) steel melting scrap in all forms including steel skull, turnings and borings; (xi) steel tubes, both welded and seamless, of all diameters and lengths, including tube fittings; (xii) tin-plates, both hot dipped and ele ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ind of "Iron and Steel" referring to the main expression of clause (iv) and that the Department had committed an error of law in restricting the expression of "stainless steel wire" through entry no (ix), namely, "tools, alloy and special steels of any of the above categories". 22. He also submitted that the Government of India in its Reference No. F No. 24/20/76 ST Department of Revenue and Banking dated 17.11.1976 has clarified that stainless steel is a type of alloy steel and is, therefore, covered within the definition of the term "iron and steel" for the purposes of entry no (ix) of section 14(iv) of the Central Act. He further submitted that once the Central Government has taken a stand, it is not open to the authorities of the State Government to take a different view. He has also referred to the object and reason for the amendment which is referred at page 1338 of Chaturvedi's Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 Vol. I. 23. The aforesaid submissions of the counsel appearing for the appellants were however refuted by the learned counsel appearing for the respondent who relied upon the expression "that is to say" as used in clause (iv) of section 14 of the Central Act to contend th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 27. Therefore, in view of the position settled by this Court, it is clearly established that so far the items as mentioned in clause (iv) of section 14 of the Central Act is concerned, each of the categories falling under "iron and steel" constitutes a new species and each one of them is separate commodity for the purposes of sales tax. 28. The expression "of any of the above categories" appearing in entry Nos. (ix) and (xvi) of clause (iv) of section 14 of the Central Act would indicate that they would each be items referred in the preceding items. Therefore, even the expression "of any of the above categories" in entry No. (ix) of clause (iv) would only relate to steel and alloy produced for any of the materials mentioned in item nos. (i) to (viii). Thus "stainless steel wire" produced by the appellant cannot be read into item no (xv) which reads as "wire rods and wires-rolled, drawn, galvanized, aluminized, tinned or coated such as by copper". 29. This Court in the case of Pyare Lal Mehrotra (supra), in paragraph 5, observed as under:- "5. It will be seen that "iron and steel" is now divided into 16 categories which clearly embrace widely different commercial commodities, f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1. Parliament can restrict powers of State Government to tax "declared goods" section 2(c) of the Central Act defines "declared goods" as those declared under section 14 of Central Act as 'goods of special importance in Inter State Trade or Commerce. Section 14 of the Central Act gives a list of such goods and section 15 specifies restrictions on power of States to tax such goods. 32. This Court in the case of Rajasthan Roller Flour Mills Assn. v. State of Rajasthan, [1994] Supp (1) SCC 413, observed as under:- 16. ..... "that is to say" assigned in Stroud's Judicial Dictionary (Fourth Edn.) Vol. 5 at page 2753 to the following effect: "That is to say ‑ (1) 'That is to say' is the commencement of an ancillary clause which explains the meaning of the principal clause. It has the following properties: (1) it must not be contrary to the principal clause; (2) it must neither increase nor diminish it; (3) but where the principal clause is general in terms it may restrict it:......" 17............ "The quotation, given above, from Stroud's Judicial Dictionary shows that, ordinarily, the expression, 'that is to say' is employed to make clear and fix the meaning of what is to be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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