TMI Blog1980 (10) TMI 197X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... empted under Notification No. 1069-V-ST dated 22nd April, 1963, issued under section 12 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act or not?" The questions in all the cases being common, they are being decided by this common order. 3.. The applicant is a grain dealer and also runs a dal mill. He has been assessed to sales tax for the Diwali year 1964-65 under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Central Act), and for the Diwali year 1966-67 under the State Act as well as the Central Act. Sale of "chunni" included in his turnover was assessed to tax. Along with the statement of the case of the references, annexures B-1, B-2 and B-3 are the copies of the assessment orders. 4.. In first appeal against the assessment before the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax, the applicant-dealer contended that the sales tax was incorrectly levied on sale of "chunni". This contention was rejected by the Deputy Commissioner and he has, while deciding the point raised before him, observed (translated into English) that according to the appellant, he has sold "chunni" to the tune of Rs. 53,569.00 and he has asked for an exemption under section 12 of the State Act on the basis of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 (No. 2 of 1959), the State Government hereby exempts in whole the goods or class of goods mentioned in column (1) of the schedule below from the payment of tax for the period specified in column (2) thereof: SCHEDULE Description of goods Period (1) (2) 1. Husk of all grains, cereals, pulses and From 1.4.1963 to 31.3.1964. rice. 2. Bran. 1. Period extended from time to time and 31.3.1967 substituted vide Notification No. 861-457-V-ST dated 30.3.1966." Taking into consideration this notification, the Board came to the conclusion that the orders passed by the assessing officer as well as by the first appellate authority do not require any interference and the interpretation put by the authorities below was correct and legal. Holding this the second appeal was rejected. After rejection of the second appeals, the applicant requested that as the questions of law as mentioned above arise from out of the second appellate order, the matter should be referred for the decision of this Court. The Tribunal has accepte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it was submitted before the first appellate authority that "chunni" is nothing but a cattle feed. It cannot be used for human consumption. It was submitted that even small particles of pulses which can be detected in "chunni" of moong and tunwar are only useful as "cattle feed" and not fit for human consumption and it is given along with fodder as cattle feed. There was no challenge before us for the discussion made by the appellate authority when it held that "chunni" is different from "bhusi". Similarly, the "chunni" is different from "bran". Even otherwise, we have considered the submission made by the learned counsel for the applicant to hold that the exemption claimed by the applicant under the Notification dated 22nd April, 1963, can be claimed by him or not. The submission of the learned counsel for the applicant is that "fodder" is a "cattle feed" and if "chunni" is a cattle feed, then it should be held by us that "chunni" is a cattle feed, and therefore, it is "fodder" and as such, it is exempted under the above-mentioned entry and notification. But, this submission cannot be accepted. Cattle feed includes so many items. Cattle feed is divided into two types: (i) roughage ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or in continuous screwlike expellers, but the oil meals thus produced still contained 5% or more of fat. In the newer solvent process, oils are extracted from the crushed seeds with a fat solvent, and the oil meals may contain less than 1% fat. While solvent-process meals have very little fat, they are a little higher in protein than the hydraulic-or-expeller-process oil meals, and are satisfactory feeds. In the case of cotton-seeds and peanuts, which have woody hulls or husks, these are generally removed before the oil is separated in order to secure a more complete recovery of the oil and to produce a by-product with greater feeding value. Where the hulls are not removed, the by-product cannot legally be called oil meals in the United States, but are termed cotton-seed feed and peanut feed. In Great Britain these by-products are called undecorticated oil meals. Cotton-seed oil meal, soyabean oil meal and peanut oil meal all generally contain at least 41% protein and rank high in digestibility and feeding value. Cotton-seed oil meal should not form more than about 9% of the rations for swine, to avoid injury from the effect of gossypol, a compound contained in varying amount ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h much less than hay cut before the plants are in bloom or in the early bloom stage as it is less palatable, much higher in fibre and lower in protein and vitamins. Early cut and well-cured grass hay may even equal average legume hay in feeding value, except for the lower protein content. The use of special barn-drying procedures whereby air, sometimes heated, is blown through the partially dried hay to complete the drying process makes it possible to produce excellent quality hay even during rainy periods with little or no weather damage. Barn drying of hay often avoids the extensive loss of nutrients from leaching by rain and from prolonged exposure to the sun. Green forage crops, such as corn, sorghum and the legumes and grasses, are preserved for winter feeding in the form of silage by placing the chopped forage in tower silos or in pits or trenches in the ground (see ENSILAGE). Silage is widely used, in addition to hay, as roughage for dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep and mature swine. Root crops, such as mangels or rutabagas (swedes), are raised extensively in some European countries for stock feed. The straws from the cereal grains and corncobs are very high in fibre and l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng mixed with grass, etc., as it could not be doubted that it was a concentrate and not a roughage, and the only question which arose for decision was as to whether even as a concentrate the product stood included in the entry 'fodder except cotton seed and oil-cakes'. 4.. In the Sales Tax Act, 1947, which was substituted by the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, the relevant entry was 'oil-cakes and other cattle feeds'. In the new Act, the expression 'cattle feed' which is inclusive of every thing that is fed to the cattle including fodder, was substituted by the entry 'fodder except cotton seed and oil-cakes'. It is a matter of common knowledge that, apart from fodder, milched cattle is fed with some quantity of oil-cakes and cotton-seed so as to secure better fat content in the milk. In entry No. 16, 'cotton-seed and oil-cakes' appear to have been excluded by way of abundant caution as these two items are generally used for cattle feed and there was a possibility of advancing an argument because of the general practice that these two items stood included in the expression 'fodder'. It may be noted that when an attempt was made to urge before the sales tax authorities that the concent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on-seed and oil-cakes from 'fodder' every thing and any thing that was fed to the cattle stood included in the expression 'fodder'. The Division Bench, therefore, referred to a larger Bench the question already referred to. 5.. We have no hesitation in holding that the expression 'fodder' only includes roughages, such as, green grass, hay, bhusa, kadbi, etc., and it does not include oil-cakes, cotton-seed, concentrates, etc., even if they are included in the cattle feed. We have already referred to the entry that occurred in the C. P. and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, which was to the effect 'oil-cakes and cattle feeds', an entry of large amplitude. We have also referred to the common practice of the milched cattle being fed with some quantity of cotton-seed and oilcakes to secure better percentage of fat content in the milk and we have also pointed out that in entry No. 16 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, cotton-seed and oil-cakes appear to have been excluded by way of abundant caution from the expression 'fodder' because of the apprehension that attempt might be made to argue that these items were included in the expression 'fodder' as they were commonly used as 'cattle feed'. T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... isfied that many instances might be given where provisos could be found in legislation that are meaningless because they have been put in to allay fears when these fears were absolutely unfounded, and when no proviso at all was necessary to protect the persons at whose instance they were inserted." It was again observed by the Privy Council in Meyappa Chetty v. Subramanian Chetty (1916) 43 IA 113 (PC) that in such cases the proviso has no effect whatsoever on the enactment and cannot be relied on as controlling the operative words. In Madanlal v. S. Changdeo Sugar Mills Ltd. AIR 1962 SC 1543 a passage from Craies on Statute Law to the same effect was quoted. From what we have held above it is clear that "cotton seed and oil-cakes" would not have been ordinarily included in the expression "fodder" as they are not roughages. Their exclusion from the entry is apparently by way of abundant caution, and not with a view to take out from the entry "fodder" something which was, in fact, included in it. We have also noted that if the language of the main part of the section is clear, the scope of that part cannot be enlarged by implication by resorting to the proviso. What is true of a pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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