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TMI Blog2010 (9) TMI 973X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the parties. The entries in question are reproduced below: SCHEDULE B "27. Organic manure and chemical fertilizer." SCHEDULE C "6. Oil-cakes and de-oiled cakes including de-oiled rice bran." The Tribunal in support of its view that items in question were covered by entry 27, held as under: ". . . Now the question arises whether (a) castor de-oiled rice cake, (b) neem de-oiled cake and (c) mahua deoiled cake are organic manure not liable to tax falling within entry 27 of Schedule B to the Act or these are de-oiled cakes falling in entry 6 of Schedule C to the Act taxable at four per cent. In 'A.G. Technologies Manure and Fertilizer', 'organic manures' have been defined as natural products used by farmer to provide food (plant nutrients) for the crop plants. There are a number of organic manures like farm yard manure, green manures, compost prepared from crop residues and other farm wastes, vermin compost, oil-cakes and biological wastes-animal bones, slaughter house refuse. 2.. How are organic manures beneficial in the cultivation of crops? Organic manures increase the organic matter in the soil; organic matter in turns releases the plant food in available fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d hence compliment quicker acting inorganic fertilizers when they are applied together. Solvent Extractors Association of India which is Premier Association of Vegetable Oil Industry and Trade has observed that oil-cakes/oil meals provide slow nourishment stimulation protection from soil me matodes and insects, improve yields and quality of product like taste, flavour amino acid composition, etc. It was submitted that neem, mahua and castor are tree borne oil-seeds. The Solvent Extractors Association of India (Premier Association of Vegetable Oil industry and Trade) organized workshop on minor and tree borne oil-seeds and their value added products at Raipur, Chhattisgarh on July 2, 2004 where it was revealed that tree borne oil-seeds such as sal, mahua, neem, karanja, jatropha, jojoba, wild apricot, cheura, kokum, simarouba, mango kernel, etc., are tree borne oil-seeds. Estimated potential is 30-35 lakh tones of seeds of similar product like taste, flavour amino acid composition, etc., collection is 5-6 lakh tones of seeds. Edible grade fat: cocoa butter susititue/vanaspati. Non-edible oils: is used in cosmetic pharmaceutical, diesel/kerosene and other industries. Oil-seeds are f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the sale of neem de-oiled cake, mahua de-oiled cake and castor de-oiled cake and he replied that these items are 'organic manure' and not covered within the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 and as such no licence was needed under the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 by them to be able to sell these items. The learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the Director, Agriculture is an expert who knows what is and what is not 'organic manure' within the meaning of the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 and his opinion should be taken to be the opinion of an expert. The learned Joint Director, Legal for the State, on the other hand, submitted that oil-cake and de-oiled cake may be 'fertilizer' but it is not 'organic manure', if tree leaves are dumped in a pit, it will be manure. After sometime, it will be fertilizer. In 'Melosuganril Discretionary' the work 'organic' is defined as pertaining to a class of chemical compounds derived from living organisms (2) of or pertaining to the organs of an animal or plant (3) characterized by the systematic arrangement of parts. It is, thus, clear that need de-oiled cake, mahua de-oiled cake an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ideration is whether the Tribunal was justified in holding caster de-oiled cake, neem de-oiled cake and mahua de-oiled cake to be organic manure under entry 27 of Schedule B in preference to entries of oil-cakes, i.e., entry 6 of Schedule C. Before considering the rival submissions, we may notice the nature of commodities involved. Oil-cake is the coarse solid residue obtained when oil is extracted from oil-seeds. It is commonly used as cattle feed and poultry feed. Oil-cake containing toxic elements such as caster oil-cake, neem de-oiled cake and mahua de-oiled cake are used as fertilizer. In Jai Bhagwan Oil and Flour Mills v. Union of India [2009] 14 SCC 63, it was observed: "23. What is contained in reference works/technical journals, or well-known in trade/industrial circles, need not be established by independent 'evidence'. It is well-known that oil-cake is the coarse solid residue obtained when oil is extracted from various types of oil-seeds like peanuts, soyabeans, linseed, mustard, sesame and sunflower seeds. Oil-cake is produced not only in oil mills/industries, but also in village-level ghanis. The standard preservation/detoxification procedure for oil-cakes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4] 95 STC 181 (SC); [1994] Supp (2) SCC 496, para 1, it was observed (at page 182 of STC): ". . . After decortication and passing through expellers of the groundnut seeds, groundnut oil and groundnut oil-cakes are obtained. The groundnut oil-cake again is subjected to the process in the solvent in which 'food hexane' is sprayed to obtain solvent groundnut oil and groundnut deoiled cake. . ." The Tribunal has found that items in question though being part of generic items of de-oiled cakes could be used only as organic manure. This factual composition and use of the items in question has not been disputed before us on behalf of the State. Thus, only use to which items can be put is organic manure. We may now come to the question whether an item apparently included in a specific wider entry can be held to fall in a more general entry on the ground of its user. Different commodities are classified on the basis of their use and denomination. Generally, a tariff entry is construed by applying common parlance test by considering what sense is to be attributed to an entry in its popular sense by people conversant with the subject-matter. This general principle can be de ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot in any technical sense nor from the botanical point of view but as understood in common parlance. It has not been defined in the Act and being a word of everyday use it must be construed in its popular sense meaning "that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it". It is to be construed as understood in common language.' 32.. Again in Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh, Indore v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh [1967] 19 STC 469 (SC); AIR 1967 SC 1454; [1967] 2 SCR 720, this court had to deal with the word 'charcoal' used in Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act. It was contended in that case that 'charcoal' would be covered under entry 1 of Part III of Schedule II to that Act. This court while holding that charcoal would be included in coal, observed as follows: 'Now, there can be no dispute that while coal is technically understood as a mineral product, charcoal is manufactured by human agency from products like wood and other things. But it is now wellsettled that while interpreting items in statutes like the Sales Tax Acts, resort should be had not to the scientific or the technica ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... but is to be construed in its popular sense, meaning of course, by the words "popular sense", that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it. But 'if a word in its popular sense and read in an ordinary way is capable of two constructions, it is wise to adopt such a construction as is based on the assumption that Parliament merely intended to give so much power as was necessary for carrying out the objects of the Act and not to give any unnecessary powers. In other words, the liquefied or solidified gases, inter alia, carbonic acid (carbon dioxide). This court observed as follows: 'It is also not correct to say that because the sugar manufacturer wants carbon dioxide for carbonation purpose and sets up a kiln for it that he produces carbon dioxide and not kiln gas. In fact what he produces is a mixture known both to trade and science as kiln gas, one of the constituents of which is, no doubt, carbon dioxide.' This court finally observed: 'The kiln gas in question therefore is neither carbon dioxide nor compressed carbon dioxide known as such to the commercial community and therefore cannot attrac ..... 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