Sales tax classification of a crawler-mounted crane turns on statutory context, not imported motor vehicle definitions.

Sales tax schedule entries must be construed in their own statutory context, and the definition of "motor vehicle" in another enactment cannot be imported where the entry uses the term in a broader commercial sense. Applying that approach, a crawler-mounted gasoline-operated crane was treated as essentially a crane rather than a motor vehicle for entry 58 of Schedule C to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. Because no specific entry covered it otherwise, the article fell under the residuary entry and was not taxable under entry 58.

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Issues: Whether a crawler-mounted gasoline-operated crane falls within entry 58 of Schedule C to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 as a motor vehicle, or falls under the residuary entry.

Analysis: The entry in Schedule C was held to have to be construed in its own context, and not by importing the restrictive definition of "motor vehicle" from the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. The decisive consideration was that the entry speaks of vehicles, with emphasis on the article being a vehicle and not merely on motor propulsion. A crawler-mounted gasoline-operated crane was held to be essentially a crane and not a motor vehicle in the sense intended by the sales tax entry. As no other specific entry covered the article, it was treated as falling within the residuary entry.

Conclusion: The crane does not fall within entry 58 of Schedule C and is not taxable under that entry.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the revenue and in favour of the assessee, with the article held taxable only under the residuary entry.

Ratio Decidendi: Sales tax schedule entries must be construed in their own statutory context, and the definition of a term in another enactment cannot be imported where the entry indicates a broader commercial and contextual meaning.

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