TMI Blog1977 (12) TMI 133X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... under section 17 of the said Act to be effective from the 1st day of April, 1959. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner held that books are covered by item 22 of the schedule. The Board of Revenue in suo motu revision set aside the decision of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and held that the books will not fall within that item. It is unnecessary to refer to section 17 which grants the power to the Government to exempt any class of goods from tax, either wholly or partly, for nothing turns on the wording of that section. The preamble to the notification is also unimportant because it does not use any expression therein which can throw light on the meaning to be given to the words appearing in item 22 of the schedule. We shall, theref ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... "Tea Review" would fall within the ambit of the expression "books meant for reading and reference" occurring in the notification under section 10 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act and it was held that the publications referred to will not fall within that expression. The view was expressed that the expression "books meant for reading or reference" used in the notification must be meant for reference for the public for education, knowledge, enlightenment or recreation. We are not called upon to decide about the correctness of this decision though, with great respect, we are inclined to think that a very narrow view had been taken by the Kerala High Court in construing the words "books for reading and reference" in the particular notificati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his we think is a reasonable view to take on the words used. If we adopt that view, there may be various types of books which would not fall within the expression "books for reading" such as diaries or copying books and similar books which, in the widest amplitude of the word "books", may fall within that expression. The limitations that have been introduced in interpreting the words in item 22 of the schedule to the notification must be those arising from the words used in that item. Such limitations must, therefore, flow exclusively from the qualification of books as those meant for reading and nothing else. We have indicated earlier in this judgment that neither section 17 of the Act under which the notification was issued nor the preamb ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hnical sense, a principle too well-established to need quoting of authority. We do not see why the same principle must not be applied to an exemption notification, for, a taxing statute itself has to be construed according to its words and before the revenue can tax a person, the revenue has to establish that the tax falls within the four corners of the statute; in other words, within the import of the statute as stated by the words used in the statute. The same principle must apply to an exemption and we have to take the ordinary meaning of the words "reading books". "Reading books" is not, as we said, a happy expression because it does not appear to be a very proper way of stating what was meant. That is why we stated that what is meant ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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