9911796707
TMI Blog1995 (1) TMI 319X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oner is questioning an order of assessment, this Court would have relegated the parties to avail of the remedies as provided under the statute. However, in this case a clarification has been issued by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes to the effect that ragi flour is taxable under section 5(1) of the Act and consequently the turnover tax is also attracted. The relevant portion of the clarification reads as follows: "Ragi flour Clr.Cr. 841/89-90 dated March 16, 1990: While ragi is exempt under entry 40A of the Fifth Schedule, ragi flour cannot be regarded as exempt, since in the market ragi flour and ragi are regarded as two different commercial commodities, much in the manner of wheat and wheat flour. Since ragi flour is not listed in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s to interpret is the expression "ragi " as used in entry 40A coming under the Fifth Schedule. It is also pointed out that in Rajasthan Roller Flour Mills' case [1993] 91 STC 408 the Supreme Court was concerned in interpreting the effect of wheat as having been put in Schedule IV of the Act, which are declared goods and wheat flour and wheat are both subjected to tax at single point under Schedule II of the Act. It is submitted that ragi is not subjected to tax at all since it is put in the Fifth Schedule, which is exempt from taxation and there is no other entry relating to ragi flour. When goods are non-Schedule items then section 5(1) would be attracted subject to multi-point levy of tax. It is also pointed out that section 8(2-A) of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Thus, it is stated that the principles set out in Rajasthan Roller Flour Mills' case [1993] 91 STC 408 (SC) must be applied to the facts of the present case. It is also contended that the decision in Alladi Venkateswarlu's case [1978] 41 STC 394 (SC) turned upon the peculiar entries available in the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act and therefore the principles stated therein should not be made applicable to the facts of the present case. 8.. In order to understand correctly the process of enumeration of goods for purposes of taxation in any enactment I must refer to the decision in State of Tamil Nadu v. Pyare Lal Malhotra [1976] 37 STC 319 (SC). In that decision it is stated that in the context of single point sales tax, subject to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it must be held that merely because ragi is subjected to grinding all that it would result is another form of ragi making it more useful and less cumbersome for consumption. Indeed, the Supreme Court noticed this aspect in Rajasthan Roller Flour Mills's case [1993] 91 STC 408 at page 421 as follows: "..........The High Courts while applying the principle of this judgment to the question at issue herein ignored the fact that the said decision did not deal with the meaning and ambit of the several sub-clauses in clause (i) of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act and also the fact that the Andhra Pradesh Act did not place parched rice and puffed rice under separate entries in any of the Schedules to the Act. In our opinion, the principle o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... State itself has exempted ragi flour from being brought to tax. If this view of the department is taken note of on the principles of "contemporanea legis" it must also be held that ragi flour gets the same kind of exemption as under item mentioned in the Fifth Schedule to the Act.
11.. In that view of the matter, it is unnecessary to refer to a long catena of decisions referred to by the learned counsel on either side.
12.. In the result, the petition is allowed. The assessment order impugned herein shall stand quashed, as also the circular issued by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. Consequently, the demand arising thereof shall also stand quashed. After issuing rule the same is made absolute accordingly.
Writ petition allowed. X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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