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TMI Blog1978 (12) TMI 160X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uccessfully challenged before the Appellate Tribunal. The legality of levy of tax on the turnover of coriander at the point of first purchase under item 9 of the Second Schedule to the Act was assailed before the Tribunal on two grounds. Firstly, it was urged that coriander was an oil-seed within the meaning of item 3 of the Third Schedule to the Act read with section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, that coriander was, therefore, one of the declared goods and that the turnover of coriander having suffered tax under the Central Sales Tax Act, the tax levied and collected under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act was liable to be refunded. Secondly, it was contended that in case coriander was not held to be an oil-seed, the turnover was exigible to tax at multi-point sale as any of the general goods and not at the point of first purchase. Before us, the learned counsel for the petitioner gave up the first contention and, in our opinion, very rightly. Before we appreciate the second contention put forward before the Tribunal and reiterated before us, it is necessary to notice the relevant provisions in the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act and the Central Sales Ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d Madhuca longifolia syn. M. Longifolia); (xiii) Karanja, Pongam, Honga (Pongamia pinnata syn. P. Glabra); (xiv) Kusum (Schleichera oleosa, syn. S. Trijuga); (xv) Punna, Undi (Calophyllum inophyllum); (xvi) Kokum (Carcinia indica); (xvii) Sal (Shorea robusta) ; (xviii) Tung (Aleurites fordii and A. montana); (xix) Red palm (Elaeis guinensis); (xx) Safflower (Carthanus tinctorius)." Prior to the amendment effected by Act No. 61 of 1972, section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act read thus: "(vi) Oil-seeds, that is to say, seeds yielding non-volatile oils used for human consumption, or in industry, or in the manufacture of varnishes, soaps and the like, or in lubrication, and volatile oils used chiefly in medicines, perfumes, cosmetics and the like." Item 3 of the Third Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act covering oil-seeds, as it stood prior to the amendments effected by Act No. 4 of 1974, which came into force from 1st April, 1973, was couched in the same language as item (vi) of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, as it stood prior to its amendment by Act No. 61 of 1972. In conformity with the amendment of item (vi) of section 14 of the Central Sa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Orissa v. Dinabandhu Sahu and Sons[1976] 37 S.T.C. 583 (S.C.)., their Lordships of the Supreme Court, while construing section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act, declared that coriander was an oil-seed, that, consequent upon the decision of the Supreme Court, item 9 relating to coriander and included in the Second Schedule to the Act should be deemed to be non est and that the disputed turnover of coriander is not liable to tax at the point of first purchase, but exigible to tax at multi-point sales as any of the general goods. In the case decided by the Supreme Court, section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act, as it stood prior to the amendment effected by Act No. 61 of 1972, was considered. The Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Cuttack, included in the turnover of the assessee in the said case, the sale price of jeera, dhania (coriander), panmohuri, methi, postak and pipali and levied sales tax under the Orissa Sales Tax Act at 5 per cent of the turnover. On appeal, the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Puri, allowed the claim of the assessee and held that the above items were "oil-seeds" within the meaning of section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act and gave the assessee t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... me to time. If, therefore, such an authority issued a notification including certain commodities under the head of 'oil-seeds' as defined under the Central Act, it cannot be said that the Tribunal and the High Court were not right in preferring such an opinion of the Government as good evidence for its conclusion, to the opinions relied upon by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on which great reliance has been placed by the appellant. A perusal of the contents of the letters referred to in the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court would indicate that the opinions cannot be said to be very firm or even final. Apart from this, it is not known whether all the uses which are mentioned in the definition of 'oil-seeds' were brought to the notice of the National Chemical Laboratory, Poona, and of the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, in rendering their opinions. If, therefore, the Tribunal, in the facts and the circumstances of the case, held that the particular commodities came within the definition of clause (vi) of section 14 of the Central Act, it is not possible to hold that it was not right." It may be thus noted that their Lordships of the Supreme Court did no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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