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TMI Blog2022 (8) TMI 160X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ounsel For Opposite Parties : None JUDGMENT Dr. S. Muralidhar, CJ. 1. These revision petitions by the State of Odisha ('Department') seek to urge a common question of law for consideration, viz. "Whether 'Chuni', which is a by-product of 'Dal' i.e. pulses including broken pulses, its husk, chilka and dust can itself be considered 'cattle feed', which is 'schedule goods' within the meaning of Sl. No.66 of Para-I of the Schedule attached to the Orissa Entry Tax Act, 1999 (OET Act)?" 2. The first of these revision petitions STREV 31 of 2011 arises from an order dated 5th February, 2011 of a Single Judicial Member of the Orissa Sales Tax Tribunal, Cuttack (Tribunal) dismissing the appeal of the State of Odisha thereby upholding th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t, 2010 in M/s. Madanlal Agarwalla (supra), all of the other orders of the Tribunal against which the present revision petitions have been filed by the State and which are subsequent orders (one of them by a Two-Member Bench) have consistently held that 'chuni' is by itself not 'cattle feed'. 7. Nevertheless, the Court considers it appropriate to settle the issue since it may lead to unnecessary confusion if inconsistent orders were to be passed by the different Benches of the Tribunal. 8. The relevant entry which is at Sl. No.66 of Part-I of the Schedule appended to the OET Act reads as under: "66. Cattle feed, Prawn feed and poultry feed." 9. The product, which is sought to be subject to entry tax, is admittedly 'Chuni', which ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ext of exemption from tax granted to such product. For instance, in Garg Cattle Feed Industry v. Food Corporation of India, (2009) 23 VST 99 (P&H), the question was whether 'cattle fodder' or 'cattle feed' would be exempted within the contemplation of exempt notification. This was the same context in Anand Taluka Co-operative Cotton-sale Ginning and Pressing Society Ltd. v. The State of Gujarat (1980) 45 STC 63 held that Cotton oil-cake amounts to 'cattle feed'. Again, in Kamadhenu Trading Company v. The State of Tamilnadu, (1985) 60 STC 108, it was held that hay, straw or rice bran or husk and dust of pulses and grams are normally used as 'cattle feed'. All of these were in the context of exemption notifications which exempted certain prod ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... enous rice bran oil in manufacture of soap, the question was whether it would be available even if soap is made from rice bran fatty acid derived from rice bran oil. It was observed in that context as under: "6....The requirement is that the soap manufacture should, to a prescribed extent, be from rice bran oil as contrasted with other types of oil. The contrast is not between the use of rice bran oil as opposed to rice bran fatty acid or hydrogenated rice bran oil; the contrast is between the use of rice bran oil as opposed to other oils. That is the ordinary meaning of the words used. These words may be construed literally but should be given their fullest amplitude and interpreted in the context of the process of soap manufacture. Ther ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he law, the subject can be taxed. If, on the other hand, the case is not covered within the four corners of the provisions of the taxing statute, no tax can be imposed by inference or by analogy or by trying to probe into the intentions of the legislature and by considering what was the substance of the matter." 17. In Commissioner of Sales Tax, U.P. v. Modi Sugar Mills Ltd. AIR 1961 SC 1047, the principle was explained thus: "10...In interpreting a taxing statute, equitable considerations are entirely out of place. Nor can taxing statutes be interpreted on any presumptions or assumptions. The court must look squarely at the words of the statute and interpret them. It must interpret a taxing statute in the light of what is clearly expres ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... td. v. Union of India (1985) 3 SCC 284, "12...in determining the meaning or connotation of words and expressions describing an article in a tariff schedule, one principle which is fairly well settled is that those words and expressions should be construed in the sense in which they are understood in the trade, by the dealer and the consumer. The reason is that it is they who are concerned with it, and, it is the sense in which they understand it which constitutes the definitive index of legal intention." 20. For all of the aforementioned reasons, the Court is of the view that 'Chuni' which is the by-product of 'Dal' is not 'cattle feed' and is therefore not amenable to entry tax. Accordingly, there is no merit in any of these revision pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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