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TMI Blog2003 (1) TMI 681X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... spondent No. 3, the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes revised the appellate order exercising his suo motu revisional jurisdiction and held that tea seed was not flower seed for the purpose of Schedule I of the Act, 1994 and did not merit exemption. 4.. The only point which has come up for adjudication is, if tea seed actually is flower seed and covered by serial No. 37 of Schedule I of the Act, 1994. 5.. On behalf of the petitioner, it is submitted that tea seed is growing flower plant, hence, is flower seed. The petitioner is not a dealer in tea leaves but is engaged in selling tea seeds only available from the tea flower grown in his nursery. For the purpose of tea manufacturing business, not flower, but tea leaves are required with which the petitioner has no concern. The petitioner gets seed from the camellia flower plants grown in his garden. Therefore, camellia seed or tea seed being flower seed is not taxable under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to "Act, 1994"). 6.. Relying on the decisions reported in [1988] 68 STC 126 (AP) (Andhra Pradesh Steel Corporation Ltd. v. Commercial Tax Officer, Company Circle, Vishakhapattanam), it is submit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pondents, it is submitted that the Act, 1994 has not defined the term "flower seeds". The legislature decided to give exemption of tax for sale of tea seeds with effect from April 1, 2000 as per entry No. 96 of the Schedule I. Therefore, before April 1, 2000 it was the intention of the legislature to impose tax on the sale of the tea seeds as those were not considered flower seeds. There are two types of camellia plants, i.e., the camellia sinensis and camellia japonica. The former types are used for production of different types of tea and the latter variety of seeds are used to generate uncommon tea plants for production of ornamental flowers only. The respondents, therefore, rightly levied tax on tea seeds collected from the group of plants camellia sinensis. In tea gardens camellia sinensis plants are not allowed to grow flowers and leaves are plucked for the purpose of processing and producing tea. Whereas in the nursery seed garden camellia flower plants are grown. The dealer sells those seeds to the tea garden owners who are using such seeds for the purpose of growing tea saplings only. Tea seeds, therefore, cannot be termed as flower seeds and do not come within the purview ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ical expressions or words of art, but are words of everyday use, must be understood and given a meaning, not in their technical or scientific sense, but in a sense as understood in common parlance, i.e., 'that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing, would attribute to it'. Such words must be understood in their 'popular sense'. The particular terms used by the legislature in the denomination of articles are to be understood according to the common commercial understanding of those terms used and not in their scientific and technical sense, 'for the legislature does not suppose our merchants, to be naturalists or geologists or botanists'. Similar principle was iterated in a case Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Law) v. G.S. Pai Co. [1980] 45 STC 58 (SC); AIR 1980 SC 611 and Union of India v. Gujarat Woollen Felt Mills AIR 1977 SC 1548. Therefore, there is only one cardinal rule of interpretation of the entries in the sales tax legislation which is that the entries has to be construed not in any scientific or technical sense but to be understood as it is used in common parlance, i.e., the sense by the people are conversant with the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h a construction which combines both literal and functional approach would enable the court to ascertain the true intent and purpose of the legislature. .. what has not been provided for in a statute cannot be supplied by courts as to do so, will be legislation and not construction". Therefore, nothing can be added in the statute which is not there. It was also held that an omission when seemed accidentally to have occurred, it was permissible to supply words otherwise the existing words would deprive all the meanings. Therefore, from the entry No. 37 of Schedule I, camellia flower seeds cannot be excluded to make taxable with the presumption that there was accidental omission by the legislature to exclude such seeds from Schedule I till April 1, 2000. 14.. In the case of A.V. Fernandez v. State of Kerala [1957] 8 STC 561 (SC); 1957 SCR 837. The honourable court observed: "It is no doubt true that in construing fiscal statutes and in determining the liability of a subject to tax one must have regard to the strict letter of the law and not merely to the spirit of the statute or the substance of the law. If the Revenue satisfies the court that the case falls strictly within t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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