Hand-spun silk yarn exemption upheld where manual reeling on a charka was treated as commercial hand-spun yarn.

Silk yarn prepared by reeling cocoon filaments on a charka was treated as hand-spun yarn for purposes of the exemption, because "hand-spun" was construed as an ordinary commercial term and not a term of art. The Court relied on dictionary meaning, trade usage and administrative practice, and accepted that manual picking, twisting and reeling of the filaments produced hand-spun silk yarn notwithstanding the cocoon's natural emission of filaments. The exemption was understood as supporting cottage industry and self-employment, so the sale was exempt from tax. Assessment-revision notices seeking to tax the transactions were therefore misconceived and the writ of prohibition was properly issued.

---

---

Issues: Whether silk yarn prepared by reeling cocoon filaments on a charka amounts to hand-spun yarn within item 20 of para. 4 of G. O. Ms. No. 1091 dated 10 June 1957, and whether assessment-revision notices seeking to tax such transactions were valid.

Analysis: The expression "hand-spun" was treated as an ordinary commercial term, not a term of art. In construing it, the Court relied on dictionary meaning, trade usage, and administrative practice, and noted that the product was understood in trade circles as hand-spun silk yarn. The process of picking, twisting, and reeling the filaments on a charka was held to be manual preparation of yarn, and the Court rejected the contention that the cocoon's natural emission of filaments displaced the character of the yarn as hand-spun. The exemption under section 9 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act was read as intended to protect and encourage the small-scale cottage industry and the self-employment it generated.

Conclusion: Silk yarn prepared in the manner described was held to be hand-spun silk yarn and therefore exempt from tax; the revision notices were misconceived and the writ of prohibition was rightly issued.

---