TMI Blog1995 (2) TMI 400X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and on a true and correct interpretation of the Schedule entries appended to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, was the Tribunal justified in law in holding that the sales of 'aloe twine' are covered by the scope of entry No. 25 of Part I of Schedule C and not by residuary entry No. 102 of Part II of Schedule C." 2. The determination of the above controversy depends upon the interpretation of entry 25 of Part I of Schedule C to the Act which is in the following terms: Serial No. Description of goods Rate of sales tax Purchase Rate of tax 1 2 3 4 25 (i) Gunny bags and hessian, jute twine Four paise in the rupee. Four paise in the rupee ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ccording to the Revenue, aloo plant does not belong to the species of plants from which jute fibre is extracted and jute and aloo fibres are different and distinct from each other. The contention of the Revenue therefore was that aloo twine would not be covered by entry 25(1) of Part I of Schedule C which refers to "Gunny bags and hessian; jute twine". 4.. The Tribunal considered the rival submissions. Referring to the certificates produced by the assessee it observed: "it appears that in popular or commercial sense also, aloo twine can be considered as jute twine". The Tribunal further observed that "even if this view is considered as doubtful one, then according to the established principles of interpretation of entries, the dispute h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nsel for the Revenue. Entry 25 of Part I of Schedule C, which has been set out above, covers only "jute twine". The sole question for our determination is whether aloo twine, which is made of aloo fibre, could be regarded as jute twine falling under the above entry. The answer obviously has to be in the negative, because aloe (also spelt as "aloo") is not jute but a product distinct and different from that. Jute has been defined in item 7 of Schedule B as follows: "Jute, that is to say, the fibre extracted from plants belonging to the species Corchorus Capsularies and Corchorus olitorius and the fibre known as mesta or bimli extracted from plants of the species hibiscus cannabinus and hibiscus sub-dariffa-Var altissima and the fibre known a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rms: "Aloe, genus of shrubby succulent plants in the lily family (Liliaceae), containing about 200 species native to Africa. Most members of the genus have a rosette of leaves at the base but no stem........." "Aloe plant" which is known as "Mauritius hemp" has been described in Volume 9 in the following terms: Mauritius hemp (Furcraea gigantea), Portuguese PITEIRA, French, ALOE, plant of the family grave (Agavaceae), and its fibre, belonging to the leaf fibre (q.v.) group. Despite its name, it is not a true hemp. Although the plant is native to Brazil, commercial production of the fibre did not begin in that country until about 1875. The plant was introduced to the island of Mauritius in the late 18th century where the fibre from t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ribunal was not justified in holding that aloe twine can be treated as jute twine on the face of the fact that item 25 covers only "jute twine ". The position might have been different if the expression appearing in the entry were "twine" without the qualifying word "jute" preceding it. In that event, it might have been possible for the assessee to contend that all twines, whether made of jute, aloe or any other fibre, would be covered by the above entry. It is a well-known fact that twines are made of very many products, e.g., jute, cotton, plastic, aloe. These twines are known as cotton twines, plastic twines, jute twines, aloe twines, etc. Entry 25 of Part I of Schedule C does not cover all such twines. It is restricted only to "jute twi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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