TMI Blog1978 (9) TMI 72X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... textile felts...... of a kind commonly used in paper making or other machinery.......". This reference in a statute which is intended to apply to imports made by the trading community clearly shows that `dryer felts' which are "woven textile felts......of a kind commonly used in paper making machinery" are regarded in common parlance, according to the sense of ordinary traders and merchants, textile fabrics. We have, therefore, no doubt that `dryer felts', are `textiles' within the meaning of that expression in Item 30 of Schedule `B'. Appeal allowed in favour of assessee. - Civil Appeal No. 2212 of 1977, S.T.R. No. 16 of 1974 - - - Dated:- 6-9-1978 - P.N. Bhagwati, V.D. Tulzapurkar and R.S. Pathak, JJ. A.K. Sen, Senior Advocate (A.R. Lal and Ashok Grover, Advocates, wirth him), for the appellant. J.D. Jain and M.N. Shroff, Advocates, for the respondent. [Judgment per : Bhagwati, J.]. - The short question which arises for determination in this appeal is whether `dryer felts' manufactured by the assessee fall within the category of "all varieties of cotton, woollen or silken textiles" specified in Item 30 of Schedule `B' of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 ( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion. Schedule `B' sets out in the first column, various categories of goods which are declared tax-free under Section 6 and Item 30 specifies the following category of tax-free goods : "All varieties of cotton, woollen or silken textiles including rayon, artificial silk or nylon whether manufactured by handloom or powerloom or otherwise but not including pure silk fabrics, carpets, druggets, woollen durees and cotton floor durees." The question is : whether `dryer felts' manufactured by the assessee fell within this category of goods so as to be exempt from sales tax? Can it be said that `dryer felts" constitutes a variety of cotton or woollen taxtiles? The answer to the question depends on what is the true meaning of the word `textiles' as used in Item 30 of Schedule `B'. 4. Now, the word `textiles' is not defined in the Act, but it is well settled as a result of several decisions of this Court, of which we may mention only a few, namely, Ramavatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola AIR 1961 S.C. 1325 and M/s Motipur Jamindary Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar, AIR 1962 S.C. 660 and the State of West Bengal v. Washi Ahmed, (1977)3 SCR 199 that in a taxing statute w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to their popular sense." The same rule was expressed in slightly different language by Story, J., in 200 Chests of Tea (1924) 9 Wheaton (US) 430 at 438 where the learned Judge said that "the particular words used by the Legislature in the denomination of articles are to be understood according to the common commercial understanding of the terms used, and not in their scientific or technical sense, for the Legislature does "not suppose our merchants to be naturalists, or geologists, or botanists." 6. There can, therefore, be no doubt that the word `textiles' in Item 30 of Schedule `B' must be interpreted according to its popular sense, meaning "that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it". There we are in complete agreement with the Judges who held in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee. But the question is : What result does the application of this test yield? Are `dryer felts' not `textiles' within the ordinary accepted meaning of that word? The word `textiles' is derived from the Latin `texere' which means `to weave' and it means any woven fabric. When yarn, whether cotton, silk, woollen, rayon, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... w cotton and wool and the finished products called `felts' are manufactured on powerlooms from cotton and woollen yarn". `Dryer felts' are, therefore, clearly woven fabrics and must be held to fall within the ordinary meaning of the word `textiles'. We do not think that the word `textiles' has any narrower meaning in common parlance other than the ordinary meaning given in the dictionary, namely, a woven fabric. There may be wide ranging varieties of woven fabric and they may go on multiplying and proliferating with new developments in science and technology and inventions of new methods, materials and techniques, but nonetheless they would all be textiles. The analogy of cases where the word `Vegetables' was held not to include betel leaves or sugar-cane is wholly inappropriate. There, what was disapproved by the Court was resort to the botanical meaning of the word `vegetables' when that word had acquired a popular meaning which was different. It was said by Holmes, J., in his inimitable style : "A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in colour and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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