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TMI Blog1981 (3) TMI 77X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appeal by special leave raises the question whether hypodermic clinical syringes could be regarded as "glassware" under Entry No. 39 of the First Schedule to U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948? 2. The facts giving rise to the question lie in a narrow compass. The appellant firm (hereinafter called the assessee) manufactures and sells hypodermic clinical syringes. For the assessment year 1973-74 the assessee filed a return disclosing net U.P. sales of such syringes at Rs. 95,065/-. The disclosed turnover was accepted by the Sales Tax Officer, Sector III Muzaffarnagar, but as regards the rate of tax the assessee contended that the clinical syringes in respect of their turnover of Rs. 91,513/- up to November 30, 1973 should be regarded as an unclassif ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct and the rate of tax was 7%. In view of this position that obtained for the relevant periods during the assessment year 1973-74 the assessee had claimed before the assessing authorities that its turnover in respect of syringes for the period up to November 30, 1973 was liable to tax at 31/2% as an unclassified Item or in the alternative at 4% as "hospital equipment" under Entry 44 and its turnover for the period from December 1, 1973 to March 31, 1974 was liable to be taxed at 7% as an unclassified Item. But, negativing its contentions the entire turnover was held to be taxable at the rate of 10% on the basis that clinical syringes fell within the expression "glassware" occurring in Entry 39. Counsel for the assessee contended before us t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sion has been defined in the enactment then it must be understood in the sense in which it is defined but in the absence of any definition being given in the enactment the meaning of the term in common parlance or commercial parlance has to be adopted. In Ramavatar Budhiaprasad, etc. v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola, (1961) 1 S.C.R. 279, the question was whether `betel leaves' fell within Item `vegetable' so as to earn exemption from sales tax and this Court held that word `vegetable' had not been defined in the Act, and that the same must be construed not in any technical sense nor from the botanical point of view but as understood in common parlance and so construed it denoted those classes of vegetable matter which are grown in kitc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t the dictionary meaning of the expression "glassware" is "articles made of glass" (See : Websters New World Dictionary). However, in commercial sense glassware would never comprise articles like clinical syringes, thermometers, lactometers, and the like which have specialised significance and utility. In popular or commercial parlance a general merchant dealing in "glassware" does not ordinarily deal in articles like clinical syringes, thermometers, lactometers, etc. which articles though made of glass, are normally available in medical stores or with the manufacturers thereof like the assessee. It is equally unlikely that consumer would ask for such articles from a glassware shop. In popular sense when one talks of glassware such speciali ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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