TMI Blog1995 (6) TMI 186X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der the Assam Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1956. Hence I proceed to revise assessments completed by the Superintendent of Taxes under section 20(1) of the Assam Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1956. The dealer was served with a notice to give him a reasonable opportunity to show cause as to why his assessment should not be revised. Shri Chiranjilal Agarwalla, a partner accordingly complied and along with his submission he produced his books of account for examination. I examined the whole case. The dealer is an owner of a saw mill wherein he used to saw logs purchased from different sources locally and the resultant sawn timbers were sold by him for which he was liable to pay tax. He could not claim or be allowed exemption from payment of tax for sale of sawn timber simply because he paid taxes at the time of purchase of logs since log and sawn timber are two different and separate items. So the exemption of sale of locally purchased goods did not arise in the present case. Had logs been sold as logs or sawn timbers sold as sawn timbers, then the question of exemption would have come. But there was no such case as revealed by the books of accounts of the dealer. So the entire turnover of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... petitionerfirm has a saw mill at Jagiroad. Under the Schedule to the Act taxable goods included "timber other than the firewood". Under the item No. 55 of the said Schedule, the tax was payable at 7 paise in the rupee. At the relevant time all forms of timber including logs were taxable only once at 7 paise per rupee. The petitioner-firm purchases logs sold by the Forest Department and pays tax at 7 per cent as levied under the Act and the payment is made by challans as will be evident from annexure B to the writ application. Under the Rules, Assam Finance (Sales Tax) Rules, 1956 (hereinafter called "the Rules"), the petitioner had to furnish the returns of turnover of taxable goods for different periods of the year under section 8, rule 16 and rule 17. Accordingly, on such return, the petitionerfirm paid the taxes by annexures C, D, E and F to the writ application. Thereafter, the petitioner-firm received notices under section 20(1) of the Principal Act by which the Assistant Commissioner of Taxes, Nagaon Zone, expressed his intention to suo motu revise the aforesaid assessment for the periods ending March 31, 1984, September 30, 1984, March 31, 1985 and September 30, 1985. It was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and accordingly, the petitioner has not paid the tax. Mr. Choudhury to substantiate that the conversion of logs into sawn timber is not a new product has relied on the following two decisions: (i) [1988] 70 STC 314 (SC); AIR 1988 SC 1164 [Collector of Central Excise v. Kutty Flush Doors Furniture Co. (P.) Ltd.]. 6.. The case before the Supreme Court in that case was that the timber logs were only sawn in different sizes and these did not tantamount to any manufacture. However, the Assistant Collector, Madras, held that the conversion of timber logs into sawn timber satisfies the conditions of manufacture insofar as the conversion of timber logs into sawn timber involves transformation whereby a new and different article with the distinct name, character or use emerges which is different from timber logs. The firm filed an appeal before the Collector of Appeals who concurred with the Assistant Collector upholding the duty. There was an appeal before the CEGAT. The Tribunal relying on two judgments came to the conclusion that no new product emerges by sawing of timber into several sizes. In the premises the Tribunal allowed the appeal and it was this decision which was challen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r building, carpentry, etc.; trees suitable for this; woods, forests, piece of wood, beam'. One of the meanings of the word 'timber' given in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, is 'wood used for or suitable for building (as a house or boat) or for carpentry or joinery'. a 'log' according to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary bulky mass of wood; now usually an unhewn portion of a felled tree, or a length cut off for firewood' and according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary it means 'unhewn piece of felled tree, or similar rough mass of wood especially cut for firewood'. Thus, logs will be nothing more than wood cut up or sawn and would be timber." Paragraph 91 (pages 266-267 of STC; 1330 of AIR): "A question which remains is whether beams, rafters and planks would also be logs or timber. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines 'beam', inter alia, as 'a large piece of squared timber, long in proportion to its breadth and thickness' and the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as a 'long piece of squared timber supported at both ends, used in houses, ships, etc.' and according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, it means 'a long piece of heavy oft ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... when timber is converted into planks, rafters and other wood products like tables and chairs cannot, therefore, be said to be correct so far as planks and rafters are concerned. In our opinion, planks and rafters would also be timber." Paragraph 92 (page 267 of STC; 1330 of AIR): "The result is that sales of dressed or sized logs by the respondent-firm having already been assessed to sales tax, the sales to the first respondent-firm of timber by the State Government from which logs were made by the respondentfirm cannot be made liable to sales tax as it would amount to levying tax at two points in the same series of sales by successive dealers assuming without deciding that the retrospectively substituted definition of'dealer' in clause (c) of section 2 of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 is valid." Paragraph 127 (sub-paras 10 and 11) (page 294 of STC; 1350 of AIR): "(10) Timber and sized or dressed logs are one and the same commercial commodity. Beams, rafters and planks would also be timber." "(11) As the sales of dressed or sized logs by the respondent-firm have already been assessed to sales tax, the sales to the first respondent-firm of timber by the State Government fr ..... 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