Undefined tax exemption for hooka tobacco read broadly to include tobacco meant for hooka use, not just prepared paste

An undefined exemption for "tobacco for hooka" was construed by its ordinary meaning rather than a narrow technical reading. The court held that, in the absence of a statutory definition, the expression covers tobacco meant for use in hooka and is not confined to prepared hooka tobacco paste. It also rejected the attempt to read a "directly" limitation into the exemption, noting that a taxing provision cannot be restricted by words not found in the statute. The broader construction was supported by the related excise classification of tobacco intended for manufacture into hooka tobacco.

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Issues: Whether "tobacco for hooka" in the exemption schedule to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 covers only prepared hooka tobacco paste or also raw tobacco leaves intended for use in hooka tobacco.

Analysis: The expression "tobacco for hooka" was not defined in the taxing statute. In the absence of a statutory definition, the ordinary dictionary meaning had to be applied. The Court also treated the wider description of tobacco in the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, and the reference in its Schedule III to tobacco intended for manufacture into hooka tobacco, as supporting a broader construction. The Commissioner had read the word "directly" into the exemption, but the statutory wording contained no such limitation. An exemption enacted in the statute could not be restricted by adding words not found in it.

Conclusion: The expression includes tobacco meant for use in a hooka and is not confined to prepared paste only. The petitioner succeeded and the Commissioner's contrary interpretation was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing exemption uses an undefined expression, it must be construed according to its ordinary meaning, and the Court cannot narrow the exemption by adding limiting words not found in the statute.

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