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TMI Blog1999 (8) TMI 922X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hereinafter referred to as the Central Act ), the tax payable under the State law in respect of any sale or purchase of declared goods inside the State shall not exceed 4 per cent of the sale or purchase price thereof and such tax shall not be levied at more than one stage. The State Government, in exercise of power under section 12 of the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as the State Act ), vide Notification No. Bikrikar/San/1026/77-14545 dated December 26, 1977, fixed the rate of sales tax as 4 per cent on the item coal, including coke in all its forms but excluding charcoal . The petitioners further case is that the nature and characteristic of the slurry is that coal is found in seams mixed with mud and other impurities. After its extraction from the mines, it is crushed into different sizes, thereafter it is washed in the washeries of the coal mines for removing its impurities for purposes of making it fit for use for metallurgical purposes. In the washery plant, coal is washed with the medium of water mixed with pine oil and sand through mechanical process. In the process of washing, large quantity of water is discharged through pipes which carry the disch ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this Court in the case of Bajrangbali Coke Briquetting Industries v. State of Bihar [1987] 66 STC 128; 1987 PLJR 926. 5. Before appreciating the rival submissions of the learned counsel, it would be useful first to look into the relevant law in the subject. 6.. Article 286 of the Constitution of India put restriction as to imposition of tax on the sale or purchase of goods. However, it provides that Parliament may, by law, formulate principles for determining when sale or purchase of the goods takes place and may authorise the State to make law on the sale and purchase of the goods inside the State subject to restrictions and conditions. The Parliament in pursuance of the power conferred under article 286 of the Constitution of India enacted the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and by section 14 of the said Act certain goods has been declared to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce which includes the coal including coke in all its forms, but excluding charcoal. Section 15 of the said Act put certain restrictions and conditions in regard to tax on sale or purchase of declared goods within the State. Section 15 of the said Act reads as under: 15.. Restrictions ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the tax payable by a dealer under this part on sales or purchases of declared goods made by him inside Bihar shall be subject to the restrictions and conditions contained in section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (74 of 1956). 8.. From bare perusal of the aforesaid provisions, it is manifest that subsection (1) of section 12, inter alia, provides that the sales tax or purchase tax payable by a dealer under section 3 or 4 shall be levied at 8 per cent of his taxable turnover. However, sub-section (2) put a restriction that the levy of the tax payable by a dealer on sale or purchase of declared goods inside Bihar shall be subject to the restrictions and conditions contained in section 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. It is, therefore, evident that keeping in view the aforesaid restrictions and conditions put by section 15 of the Central Act the State Government, in exercise of its power under section 12 of the State Act issued a notification dated December 26, 1977 and fixed the rate of sales tax as 4 per cent on the declared item of goods, i.e., coal including coke in all its form but excluding charcoal . It has not been disputed by the learned Government Advo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the mixture of mineral in the liquid form. In Websters New 20th Century Dictionary, slurry is defined as follows: A thin mixture of water and any of several fine, insoluble materials as clay, cement, soil, etc. In common parlance slurry is a liquid form mixed with some other material. In Encyclopaedia Britannica slurry is defined as under: Slurry-watery mixture or suspension of insoluble matter. In the manufacture of portland cement, a mixture of the raw materials with water is called a slurry. Cement may be piped as a slurry in building construction. Coal may be transported over long distances as a slurry via pipeline; this method of transmission is economical between large producing areas and markets where large tonnages are used at a fairly uniform rate. The shipment of iron ore as slurry, either by pipeline or by tanker, also has increased. When slurry reaches its destination, the material is separated from the water before use or further processing . 10.. The apex Court reiterated the law decided in the case of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. (1990) 4 SCC 557 and held that slurry is a coal in the case of Jugnu Construction Ltd. v. C.C.L. (Civil Appeal No. 3778 of 1989) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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