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Issues: Whether hessian cloth falls within the expression "all varieties of cloth" in Entry No. 6 of Schedule I of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 and is therefore exempt from sales tax.
Analysis: The expression "cloth" was not defined in the Act and had to be understood in its ordinary and popular sense. In common parlance, cloth denotes a woven fabric, and hessian was shown to be structurally a woven fabric made by the same process as other cloths, though coarser in texture and not ordinarily used for garments. The broad language "all varieties of cloth" was comprehensive enough to include hessian cloth. The absence of a specific exclusion for hessian, coupled with the scheme of the schedules, supported this construction. A later notification exempting "gunny bags including hessian" did not alter the meaning of the statutory entry so as to exclude hessian cloth from it.
Conclusion: Hessian cloth is cloth within Entry No. 6 of Schedule I and is exempt from tax. The penalty and tax demand based on the contrary view were not sustainable.
Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing entry uses broad, undefined language such as "all varieties of cloth", the term must be construed in its common and popular sense, and a woven fabric that answers that description cannot be excluded unless the statute clearly does so.
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