TMI Blog1991 (3) TMI 370X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e carries on the business to sell (i) cotton bandage cloth, (ii) cotton gauze absorbent cloth and (iii) cotton rolled bandages. The opponent sells cotton bandage cloth and cotton gauze absorbent cloth in the same form of "taka" in which it purchased them, after bleaching the same with bleaching solution. However, in the case of cotton rolled bandages after bleaching cotton bandage cloth the opponent cuts them into pieces which are 3 metres in length and either 2 inches or 3 inches or 4 inches in width. The opponent, thereafter, sells the cotton rolled bandages of the above three sizes as packed in bundles of 10 pieces each. (ii) The opponent sold the said articles since he believed that the articles were "handloom fabrics of all varieties" when sold at a price less than Rs. 10 per metre within the meaning of entry 33 of Schedule I to the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, hereinafter referred to as "the said Act", and therefore, according to the opponent their purchases as well as sales were free from all taxes in terms of section 5 of the said Act. (iii) The sales tax authorities visited the business premises of the opponent and found that the opponent was dealing in cotton bandage clot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hereinabove for our decision. 3.. The learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the applicant submits that the cotton rolled bandages manufactured and sold by the opponent squarely fall within entry No. 26(1) of Schedule II, Part A of the said Act, and in his submission the "cotton rolled bandages" would fall within the meaning of the word "drug". He further submits that the cotton rolled bandages cannot be appropriately described or classified as goods of "handloom fabrics of all varieties" under entry No. 33 of Schedule I to the said Act. He submits that the "cotton rolled bandages" in the popular parlance or common parlance are understood as substances which are used for the purpose of treating and/or mitigating the diseases. In his submission the use to which the cotton rolled bandages are put is a material factor to be kept in mind. He submits that in the popular parlance "cotton rolled bandage" is not understood as "handloom fabric" but he submits that they can be classified under the entry "drugs and medicines". The opponent as a manufacturer knows that by bleaching cotton bandage cloth with relevent bleaching solution and after cutting the said cotton ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the opinion that from the point of view of the manufacturer, the seller, buyer and the user, the cotton rolled bandages are understood as "bandages" used for the purpose of covering cuts or wounds which are used as substance which treat or heal the wounds or cuts. 5.. The words "drug" and "medicine" are not defined by any of the provisions of the said Act. It is the accepted principle of interpretation of fiscal statute that when the word or term is not defined by the statute it is the court which should try to find out the meaning in the popular parlance or in the common parlance. How is the commodity known amongst the persons dealing with the commodity is the question required to be asked. Primary test for determining the nature of article would be the test of common or popular parlance. Cotton rolled bandage is always regarded by the manufacturers as "bandage" and the opponent is not an exception. He describes his produce as "cotton rolled bandages" and not as "handloom fabric". He stocks and sells the cotton rolled bandages as "bandages" and not as "handloom fabric". They are marketed as "cotton rolled bandages". Purchaser would necessarily ask for "bandages" and the suppl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... preparation used in treating diseases. In Stedman's Medical Dictionary, the term "medicine" is defined to mean (i) A drug; (ii) the art of preventing or curing diseases, the science that treats of diseases in all its relations; (iii) the study and treatment of general diseases or those affecting the internal parts of the body, distinguished from surgery. However, the concept of "medicine" is not stated. In the case of Rashtra Deep Laboratory v. Commissioner of Sales Tax reported in [1983] 53 STC 419, the Allahabad High Court was called upon to decide as to whether water for injection would fall within the entry of "medicine and pharmaceutical preparations". It was the case of the Commissioner of Sales Tax before the Allahabad High Court that water for injection is nothing but distilled water in the broad sense of the word and that it cannot be classified as medicine and pharmaceutical preparation. While holding that water for injection is "medicines and pharmaceutical preparations" the court observed as under: "The concept of medicine is not static. It is a changing concept linked with the advancing human knowledge and its endeavour to alleviate human suffering. It is also chang ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d gauze which were found from the premises of the appellant before the Supreme Court would fall within the definition of "drug" as defined by the said Act. In that case the Supreme Court has observed as under: "The said definition of 'drugs' is comprehensive enough to take in not only medicines but also substances intended to be used for or in the treatment of diseases of human beings or animals. This artificial definition introduces a distinction between medicines and substances which are not medicines strictly so-called. The expression 'substances', therefore, must be something other than medicines but which are used for treatment. The part of the definition which is material for the present case is 'substances intended to be used for or in the treatment'. The appropriate meaning of the expression 'substances' in the section is 'things'. It cannot be disputed, and indeed, it is not disputed, that absorbent cotton wool, roller bandages, and gauze are 'substances' within the meaning of the said expression. If so, the next question is whether they are used for or in 'treatment'. The said articles are sterilized or otherwise treated to make them disinfectant and then used for surgi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... It provides safe coverage against exposure to wind, dust, and other infectious elements, and it thereby mitigates the possibility of spread of wound or prevents the wound from getting septic. Bandage positively helps in prevention of any disease at least by preventing the wound to be infected and thereby it helps the healing process. Cotton rolled bandages thus assist in healing wounds. They can, therefore, be classified as "drug and medicine" in common or popular parlance. Person in trade dealing with its manufacture and sales also treats the bandage as "drug or medicine". The respondent-manufacturer manufactures them as bandages. We are fortified in our conclusion by the fact that the respondent has applied for licence to manufacture bandages under the provisions of the "Drugs and Cosmetics Act". On the package containing bandages the article is described as "bandage" and its batch number is also stated. Such bandage is required to conform to the standards prescribed in the provisions of the "Drugs and Cosmetics Act" for the purpose of manufacturing bandages. The respondent sells them as bandages. The class of purchaser being either surgeons or patients purchases them as bandage ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n which such a word is to be found in another statute may mean the etymological or scientific sense and would not in the context of another statute be applicable." 10.. From the above observations of the court, we are of the opinion that what is laid down is that while construing a word in a given Act, the court should be cautious in adopting the meaning ascribed to that word in another statute. An absolutely unnatural sense or meaning which is given to the word in another statute cannot be bodily lifted and applied to a word in another statute. We are of the opinion that the above observations of the Supreme Court do not totally prohibit reference to the meaning of a word as given in another statute for the purpose of ascertaining the meaning of that very word occurring in the statute before the court. The Supreme Court has simply sounded a note of caution. We have, in fact, independently undertaken the exercise of ascertaining the meaning of the word "drug" and as to how in the popular parlance "bandages" is accepted. Having applied the test of commercial parlance as well as test of predominant use we have independently reached the finding that "cotton rolled bandages" can be d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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