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TMI Blog1993 (12) TMI 233X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fication dated 8.3.1988, which reads as under: 11. Cotton that is to say, all kinds of cotton (indigenous or Imported) in Its manufactured or un-manufactured state, whether ginned or unginned, baled, pressed or otherwise, but not including cotton waste. 3. The petitioner was collecting tax from the purchasers according to the rates fixed for this item by the State Government under the provisions of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act and the rules framed thereunder. The notification dated 8.3.1988 was superseded by the notification dated 23.3.1989 and thereafter this notification dated 23.3.1989 was further superseded and amended vide notification dated 27.6.1990 which provided the rates of tax for cotton in Item No. 16, which reads as under: 16. Cotton, that is to say all kinds of cotton (indigenous or imported), whether ginned or unginned, baled, pressed or otherwise including cotton waste. 4. After the issuance of the notification dated 27.6.1990 the petitioner approached the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Rajasthan, Jaipur under Section 12-A of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 (referred to hereinafter as the Act of 1954 ) for determining the rate of tax payable by the peti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Tribunal and they are not bound by the decision given by the Additional Collector, Commercial Taxes under Section 12A of the Act of 1954 and as such there is no option left with the petitioner but to approach this Court for determination of the question whether this item is covered by the general rate of tax i.e. 10% or at the rate of 6% or at the rate of 4% as it is covered by item No. 16. 6. A reply has also been filed by the respondent Commercial Taxes Department and it has been stated that the petitioner may appear before the authorities in pursuance of the notices and raise all these objections and let the authorities may decide the matter. Secondly, it is submitted that in view of the decision given by the Tribunal the petitioner is likely to be taxed at general rate. Therefore, in this back ground the controversy has to be resolved. 7. So far as the first preliminary objection raised by the respondents that the petitioner should first approach the authorities in pursuance of the notices issued by the respondents is concerned, in this respect suffice it to say that this exercise will be a futile exercise because the authorities has already issued the notices in view o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Pharma Copia prescribes the process as under: Standards: Absorbent cotton wool consists of the trichomes or good quality new Bombers of trained from the seedcoat of various species of the genus Gossypium, tinned, cleaned, purified and bleached. It does not contain any colouring matter. British pharma copia prescribes the standards under: Absorbent cotton wool is prepared from cotton, which consists of the epidermal trichomes of the seeds Gossypium Herbacum L. other cultivated species of Gossypium (Family Malvaceas). The seeds are removed mechanically loosened and separated to from a fleecy mass of soft while filaments which consists almost entirely of cellulose. Absorbent Cotton Wool absorbs water readily, but its absorbency may be considerably reduced by medication its absorbency may also be reduced by prolonged storage or by exposure to heat. It may be attacked by moulds when stored under conditions where the in the cotton wool exceeds. 9. So, this absorbent cotton wool I.P. is noting but a cotton which is purified and which is made more absorbent of water. Certain procedure has been given as quoted above as to how it is prepared. It is only a very purified kind of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Additional Commissioner that whether this commodity can be covered under entry 56 i.e. pharmaceuticals of the notification dated 27.6.1990 which reads as under: 56. Medicines, drugs and all kinds of pharmaceutical preparations excluding items mentioned at item No. 72. 14. Both the parties had concentrated on entry No. 16 only as the arguments were confined in that context. But the question before the Tribunal was that surgical cotton which is known in the commercial market as such is nothing but the absorbent cotton wool I.P. is to be taxed at the general rate of tax i.e. 10% or at the rate of 6% treating it to be a pharmaceutical preparation. Therefore, there is a shade of difference between both the decisions. But both the cases have been cited before me and I have to consider that whether this item is to be taxed at the rate of 4% according to entry No. 16 or is to be taxed at the rate of 6% according to entry 56 or it is to be taxed as per the residuary entry i.e. 105 general rate for goods which are not covered at the rate of 10%. 15. The absorbent cotton wool I.P. is a technical name of this cotton which is sold in the market and commonly known as surgical cotto ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... view taken by the Tribunal appears to be correct as against the view taken by the Additional Commissioner, Commercial Taxes. In this connection, the Tribunal has made a reference to 1986 RTC 350; 1968 (21) STC 171; 1970 (25) STC 53; 1983 (53) STC 203. Against this reference has also been made to Sri Ram Products and Fairdeal Corporation Ltd. (supra). Both these cases were also considered by the Tribunal, which were also considered by the Additional Commissioner. 17. The case of Sri Ram Products (supra) was a case of surgical cotton and it was observed as under: Absorbent cotton wool I.P. , which goes through some manufacturing processes, cannot fall under entry 2 of the Second Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, because for that entry to apply, the cotton must be in manufactured state. The use of the expression I.P. in the very name as well as the requirement of its being sterilized before use as mentioned in the label show that the product will fall within the classification of surgical dressings in entry 95 of the First Schedule to the Act. 18. In this case the question was whether the surgical wool is covered by entry 95 or entry 2 of the Schedul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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