TMI Blog1961 (1) TMI 60X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tionary meaning of the word "production". It is unnecessary to decide what the word "manufacture" means. As what was sold was mica produced in Bihar by the appellant, the answer to the question would be in the affirmative and therefore in favour of the State. - Civil Appeal No. 711 of 1957 - - - Dated:- 9-1-1961 - KAPUR J.L. AND HIDAYATULLAH M. AND SHAH J.C. JJ. S.P. Varma, Advocate, for the respondents. H.R. Gokhale and K.R. Chandhuri, Advocates, for the appellants. -------------------------------------------------- The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KAPUR, J. -This is an appeal against the judgment and order of the High Court of Patna in a Sales Tax Reference made under section 25(1) of the Bihar S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er the assessee has been rightly taxed under the newly added proviso to section 2(g) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act for the two quarters from the 1st of October, 1948, to the 31st of March, 1949." Two points were decided by the High Court, (1) as to whether there was a proper reference, and (2) whether it could be said that the sale was of goods which had been manufactured in the State of Bihar. On both these points the decision was against the appellant and this appeal is directed against that judgment and order. The only question which has been raised in this Court is whether the transactions of the appellant company fall within the definition of the word "sale" under section 2(g) of the amended Bihar Sales Tax Act. That section provides: ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1944-45 at page 6 as follows: "Mica is found imbedded in the pegmatite vein in the form of what are known as 'books of mica'. These are crystals of mica and comprise the mineral in its crude form. They may vary in size from a few cubic inches to big blocks, measuring two to three hundred square inches in the place of the laminations and one foot or more across it. For preliminary treatment, the books are rifted into slabs, varying from eight to thirty mils in thickness and the worst flaws are then cut away. This work is usually done with sickles and the mica at this stage is described as sickle-dressed block, or, more shortly, as S.D.B. Of recent years, small dealers and some of the bigger producers are using knives for the initial cut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... kness from eight to thirty mils. The superior qualities of the block mica and the bigger sizes of the inferior qualities are largely exported as such. The chillas are thin sheets of mica, less than eight mils thick, removed in the course of processing and qualifying mica. With the block, which is not exported as such, they undergo further processing into splittings, wrappers, condenser films, condenser plates, washers and discs." Neither of the words "production" or "manufacture" is defined in the Bihar Sales Tax Act but according to the Oxford English Dictionary "production" means amongst other things that which is produced; a thing that results from any action, process or effort, a product; a product of human activity or effort. I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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