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TMI Blog1973 (7) TMI 119X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ereinafter called the Act ). The Sales Tax Officer negatived the contention. The assessee, however, succeeded before the Appellate Authority but failed before the Board of Revenue. A request for reference was made to the Board of Revenue, but the Board declined it. The assesses therefore moved this Court and obtained a direction for the Board of Revenue to refer the following question for answer: Whether on the fact and in the circumstances of the case. The Roll Registers of the University of Rajasthan and the Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer, are exempt from payment of sales tax by virtue of Section 4 read with serial number 10 of the Schedule of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act? 2. Mr A.K. Bhandari appearing for the assessee urged ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the University and the Board the Commodity was exercise books and therefore he should not be permitted to advance this argument. He placed reliance on Industrial and Commercial Service, Allahabad v. Commissioner of Sales Tax 1963 STC 299. 4. Before we come to grips with the question that confronts us it will I be advisable to extract out the relevant provisions of law for concentrating our attention. Section 4 of the Act runs as follows: Act not to apply to certain sales:-(1) No tax shall be payable under this Act on the sale or purchase of any of the exempted goods if the conditions specified in column 3 of the Schedule are satisfied. (2) Where the State Government is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient in the public in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eaning should be attached to the word books and that is wide enough to include the printed rolls-register. But on a closer examination of the entry we find that there are two words which discourage us from that course. The first is the exercise books and the second is periodical journals. If the intention of the Legislature was to give the widest dictionary meaning to the word books there was hardly any sense in using the word exercise books and periodical journals . As we shall presently examine the word ''book' embraces within its bounds, even journals if they are bould whether periodical or otherwise and exercise books whether lined or not Therefore, it is clear that the Legislature intended to give a truncated mea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arrative, record list, register, 1681-3. Gen. A collection of sheets of paper or other susyanca, blank (cf.8), written or printed, fastended together so as to form a material whole: esp. such a collection fastended together at the back, and protected by covers: also, a literary composition long enough to make one volume, as dist. from a tract, pamphlet, essay, etc. From a reading of the aforesaid meanings there is no room for doubt that the word book'' is a word of expansive import, so as to include exercise books and periodical journals. Therefore we have an obvious case for departing from 11 the literal meaning of the word books . 6. What could be the meaning that we would be prepared to attribute to the word 'books ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sheets of paper conveniently arranged to record the performance of the candidates at a given examination and only to be used by the examining bodies. They may indirectly advance education. They however do not directly assist it and therefore they escape exemption. 7. Another reason which persuades us to take the aforesaid view is the doctrine of 'noscitur a sociis'. It is a variation of the doctrine of 'ejusdem generis' in the field of interpretation. The words acquire a meaning from the words that precede and follow (See Sutherland Statutory Construction, 3rd Edition, Volume 2, page 395). The word book followed by the word exercise books does lend a meaningful restriction to the wide ambit of meanings attached to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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