TMI Blog2008 (8) TMI 963X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nged the legality and propriety of the order of the First Appellate Authority by filing Second Appeal Nos. 147 of 1987, 150 of 1989, 209 of 1989 and 190 of 1990 for the Assessment Years 1981-82 to 1984-85 respectively. The Tribunal after examining the matter with some detail allowed the appeals by setting aside the order of the First Appellate Authority and restored back the matter to the Assessing Authority with certain directions contained therein. Challenging the findings recorded by the Tribunal, the present revisions have been preferred by the dealer. In the memo of revisions, the following questions of law have been sought to be raised: (i) Whether the Trade Tax Tribunal is legally justified in law in completely overlooking the relevant Notifications, as also the various decisions and material evidence placed by the applicant-Company in support of its case in deciding the issue involved in the present case? (ii) Whether the Trade Tax Tribunal is correct in law, on one hand recording its finding that the product manufactured and sold by the applicant-Company, is Coconut Oil which is covered under the various notifications but while concluding the issue, forming its own v ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... azor blades, hair combs, tooth pastes, tooth powders, and other dentifrices, tooth brushes and kumkum. M or I 12 per cent 6. Learned Counsel for the applicant submits that 'coconut oil' is an edible oil and is, therefore, taxable under Entry No. 31 of Notification No. 5785. He further submits that if the coconut oil is mixed with perfumes and is only used for beautification and toilet purposes, only then it shall fall under the category of 'cosmetics of all kinds'. Reliance upon various judgments noticed hereinafter in brief was placed to show that the coconut oil has always been treated by the department, as falling in the category of 'oils of all kinds'. Me also referred circular dated 7th November, 1981 issued from the office of the Commissioner of Sale Tax wherein the Commissioner has informed the department that refined and filtered coconut oil is liable to be taxed under the category of 'oils of all kinds' unless scent or any other fragrance bearing substance is added therein. The other circular is dated 9th December, 1999 wherein it has been stated that the filtered coconut oil is liable to be taxed under the category of 'oils of all k ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... red above, the question was how the commodity in question i.e. coconut oil sold by the dealer in particular has been considered even by the dealer itself and the customers in the market. The question is whether the purchasers purchased the commodity treating it as edible oil for eating purposes or have purchased with a different object in the mind /. e. other than eating purposes. 11. At this juncture, certain facts noticed by the Tribunal in the order and not disputed before this Court may be considered. The dealer is selling branded parachute coconut oil. It is being advertised on T. V. Channel and other media for the purpose of 'dark and long hair'. In the packing, it has been transcribed as follows 'this oil can be used directly or as base for perfume hair oil'. 12. It is being sold in the packing of 200 and 500 ml. The commodity in question has not been purchased by the trader dealing in edible oil. It has been further noticed that the commodity has been sold to small consumers at a much higher rate than the prevalent rate of edible oil. It is being advertised in T. V. and other media as 'hair oil' and not as 'edible oil'. 13. On these ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ithin item 'vegetable' so as to earn exemption from sales tax and it was held that work 'vegetable' has not been defined in the Act, and that the same must be construed not in any technical sense nor from the botanical point of view but as understood in common parlance and so construed it denoted those classes of vegetable matter which are grown in kitchen garden and are used for the table and did not comprise betel leaves within it and, therefore, betel leaves were not exempt from taxation. 17. In Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh, (1967) 2 S.C.R. 720, the question was whether the item 'coal' under Entry I of Part III of Second Schedule to Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 included charcoal or not and it was observed thus : Now, there can be no dispute that while coal it technically understood as a mineral product, charcoal is manufactured by human agency form products like wood and other things. But it is now well settled that while interpreting items in statutes like the Sales Tax Acts, resort should be had not to the scientific or the technical meaning of such terms but to their popular meaning or the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in kitchen garden. It was held that betel leaves are not grown in kitchen garden and, therefore, is not vegetable. Similarly, sugarcane was excluded from the category of sugar product in Motipur Zamindari Co. v. State of Bihar, A.I.R. 1962 SC 660. Chillies and lemons have been held to be vegetables in Mongulu Sahu Ramachari Sanu v. Sales Tax Officer, Ganjam, AIR 1974 SC 390. 21. In Collector of Central Excise v. Krishna Carbon Paper Co., A.I.R. 1988 SC 2223 it has been held that consumers understanding of the expressions used in legislation relating to them is also an input injudicial construction. Emphasis has been laid construing entries of goods in Excise, Customs, Octroi or Sales Tax Act. Resort should normally be had not to the scientific or technical meaning but to their popular meaning i.e. the meaning attached to the expressions used by those dealing in them. 22. Applying the test of popular meaning it was held while construing Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948 that tooth powder is a 'toilet requisite' in Sarin Chemical Laboratory (supra). 23. The said decision has been followed in State of Gujarat m. Prakash Trading Company (supra). 24. In Ganesh Tradi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e. The Tribunal was called upon in the earlier assessment years to adjudicate as to whether coconut oil is liable to be taxed as edible oil or otherwise. The Tribunal opined that coconut oil as well as the filtered coconut oil is liable to be taxed under the category of 'oils of all kinds'. The point that branded parachute coconut oil is to be taxed as 'oils of all kinds' or as a 'hair oil' was not there even remotely. Since the question involved presently was not involved in the earlier assessment years, the ratio relied upon the case of M/s. Ponds India Ltd. (supra) has hardly any application. It does not advance the case of the dealer. For the same reason, the circulars of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, judgment of the Tribunal and the order passed by the Commissioner under Section 35 of the Act do not posit the case of the dealer any further. In none of them the question as involved in the present revision was there. 27. Apart from the above, these decisions have no binding effect on this Court as they are of, if any value, are either of Commissioner of the Tribunal, below the High Court. 28. The argument that entry of 'oils of all kinds' b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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