Rolled steel sections: rivetting does not change their essential form, so the specific tax entry applies.

Rivetted baling hoops made from rolled steel sections remained within the specific sales tax entry for rolled steel sections sold in the same form as produced by rolling mills. The Court held that joining sections by rivetting does not alter their essential character, and length is not part of their form. A plain grammatical reading, supported by the scheme for declared goods under the Central Sales Tax Act and the Bombay Sales Tax Act, required the specific entry to apply rather than the residuary entry. The goods therefore fell under entry 4(d)(iv) in Schedule AA and not under residuary entry 80.

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Issues: Whether rivetted baling hoops, being rolled steel sections joined together by rivetting, were goods covered by entry 4(d)(iv) in Schedule AA to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 as rolled steel sections sold in the same form in which they were directly produced by the rolling mills, or whether they fell under the residuary entry 80 in Schedule B.

Analysis: The goods in question were accepted as rolled steel sections. The only controversy was whether rivetting changed their form so as to take them outside the specific entry. The Court held that length is not part of form and that joining pieces by rivetting does not alter the essential character of rolled steel sections. On a plain grammatical construction, rivetted sections remain in the same form in which they are directly produced by the rolling mills. The object of the legislative scheme under sections 14 and 15 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and section 7A read with Schedule AA of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 also supported this construction, because the relief intended for declared goods of special importance could not depend on whether the sections were sold in original lengths or joined to make greater lengths.

Conclusion: Rivetted baling hoops fell within entry 4(d)(iv) in Schedule AA and did not fall under the residuary entry 80 in Schedule B. The question was answered in the affirmative in favour of the assessee.

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